South Sudan Government and it’s citizens must do more to tame virus

The National Taskforce on COVID-19 led by Vice President for Services Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol announced a partial lockdown to tame the infections in the country.

In the statement, the team said the directive was to monitor the second wave which is still being experienced around the globe and by some countries in East Africa. 

Part of the measures the task force came up with included the observance of social distance, mandatory wearing of facemasks and scaled down sitting arrangement in the public transport.

But the announcement elicited discontent among the South Sudanese people, with many of them faulting the government for implementing more measures. 

The institutions—both public and private—were directed to embrace the ‘work from home’ formula or use a rotation approach to decongest the working environments.

The measures that the Akol-led taskforce came up with have all been part of the wider scope of public discourse in various countries. This is because the World Health Organization (WHO) approved them and tapped the member countries to ensure that they are the remedial measures to avert a catastrophe.

Some of the concerns by the citizens were that the government was coming with even more measures at the behest of down peddling economy that needs resuscitation. Critics of the partial lockdown and more social behaviour checks argued that there was no way South Sudan would rise above the economic recession caused by the virus itself if the government was hell-bent on restricting movements. This was in response to the directive by the government that some businesses such as bars, shisha joints, night clubs and some restaurants should remain closed.

The directives also affected government operations as some institutions have remained on a lock and key ever since. This only implies that some citizens cannot access certain services due to the scaled services. It is what the situation has condemned us to.

Tightening measures

The church pleaded with the government to allow the places of worship to continue opening in strict observance of the safety measures. The government kept mum over the pleas but stepped up its feet on February 13 constituted a COVID-19 Audit Committee to enforce the rules and ensure punishment of those found not to be adhering.

Apart from listing the assessment measures, and points to be awarded; the government warned of serious punishments for institutions and bosses that would be found culpable of failing to follow rules.

With the country’s COVID-19 numbers increasing by almost 1,000 in a span of a month, there is more reason for concern. Both the government and the citizens should be worried.

While the government has seen the need and is moving in the right direction to enforce protocols; care needs to be taken so that measures taken are considerate and not destructive. For instance, there need to be accommodative policies to ensure that businesses remain in operation as the country keeps safe. Ordering for closures with no plan-B is tantamount to sealing one leakage and making another.

No remedies

The government should have thought deeply about how to juggle the ball and ensure that small and medium-sized businesses remain in operation. This may not necessarily involve economic support, but just creating a conducive environment for operation. This can be achieved through proper checks on restrictions on gathering.

South Sudan is peaking with increased testing capacity; the country could post even higher numbers. But what remains saddening is the reluctance of the citizens to observe the rules. From urban to rural areas the story remains the same-no facial masks. It is a worrying trend that may have to compel the use of the long arm of the law to rectify.