Letter: Too little too late

Simon Scott of Ballito writes:

This government is to blame for the situation we find ourselves in on two counts: First, how did they not place people who were returning from Europe into mandatory quarantine, as far back as February 22?

The World Health Organisation had met to discuss the pandemic and by March 5 when our first case was reported the virus was rife in Europe. Why were we not preparing already for it to hit our shores?

Why wait to announce a lockdown then decide to prepare our facilities? Useless that’s why.

Second count: Now we go into lockdown and I was all for it and would have been prepared to take 7 weeks of hard lockdown as I feel that most people and businesses could have come through that reasonably unscathed, but no, they muck about for 5 weeks of hard lockdown then announce these ludicrous levels and we go into a further month of Level 4 just shy of a full lockdown.

This was the death knell for many and jobs were being shed left, right and centre.

If they had properly policed the hard lockdown then the virus would have been contained and manageable, but nope, they allowed so much freedom of movement as if nothing was happening.

Roads should have been barricaded, funnelling anyone moving in one direction (easily policed then) and they should have setup temporary camps all around the country to ease the special constraints of the informal areas.

They should have then had food supplies delivered directly to these camps and the informal areas, shopping should have been really curtailed and based on online orders only.

Yes, an enormous task but this could have been achieved with the help of so many who were already on the frontline and volunteers.

The frontline workers should not have been allowed to go home during this period.

They should have been put up in hotels etc nearer their places of operation.

This would have been a response that the entire country would have welcomed and worked together to achieve the end goal – containing and eradicating the virus.

But guess what, hey we the government are safe as houses, we will be alright at the end of this with their fat cat lavish lives, living off public money, the public service has sacrificed nothing, yet the private sector has been made to suffer tremendously and the repercussions of this are still 6 months away, then only will the true impact start hitting home.

Then to top it off the cheek of it all the public service still wants increases.

I say time to get rid of governments: let the country be run as a business with private people in charge, have 4 pillars: Education, Health, Law and Order (Defence part of this) and Finance.

The government’s wage bill accounts for the largest portion of the national budget at 34%.

This means for every R1 000 government spends, R340 goes to employee compensation, according to Africa Check.

They have ruined lives and businesses and should not be allowed to get away with it, they should pay everyone’s outstanding bills for denying us the right to earn a living.

Do you want to receive news alerts from The North Coast Courier via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.