IN the wake of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) devastation, Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni was this week at pains to point out how scared he was to host two major events, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and Independence Day celebrations.
NewsDay Comment
And we find it quite puzzling why he is failing to master the courage to just tell the nation that the city is not willing to take any risks by hosting the two major events when the rest of the world is on lockdown, as far as major gatherings are concerned.
What also scares us even more is Mguni’s own admission that “as for the council, it is a scare. I don’t think we have the capacity to handle a coronavirus outbreak.” So why take the risk?
Mguni says some of the visitors to ZITF are expected from the United Kingdom where the Health minister has since tested positive to coronavirus. And most obviously visitors are expected from the coronavirus epicentre, China, and neighbouring South Africa which is currently struggling to come to terms with rising cases of the disease.
Surely, Zimbabwe cannot keep deluding herself that we are safe from this deadly disease that has claimed more than 4 000 lives and infected over 100 000 people worldwide. Surely, Zimbabwe cannot derive any comfort from the fact that China, the epicentre of COVID-19, has declared that the situation there has stabilised.
Surely, Zimbabwe cannot afford to be this complacent at a time the dreaded disease has reared its ugly head just across the Limpopo River where new cases keep popping up and where millions of Zimbabweans are domiciled as economic refugees. Clearly, Zimbabwe cannot act macho at a time other countries are ordering events such as football matches to proceed behind closed doors. No doubt Zimbabwe stands to lose nothing if it postpones all major events in the wake of this deadly pandemic.
The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) health ministers have since shown the way by advising the region to temporarily suspend regional public meetings. And it is quite perplexing that Zimbabwe’s own Health minister, after attending the Sadc Health ministers’ meeting in Tanzania, casually tells us that COVID-19 will not affect the hosting of ZITF. It is now increasingly becoming evident why Zimbabwe is among many countries the World Health Organisation has identified for not taking the coronavirus disease as a serious global crisis.
