The irony of our times

Since our daily COVID19 infection rate is increasing rapidly in South Africa, the President recently announced that we will move to what we call Alert Level 3 Lockdown, in order to curb the spread of the Corona Virus or that’s what we made to believe...

Now Alert Level 3 Lockdown has its own regulations with the following restrictions, amongst others:

Gatherings restricted to no more than 50 indoors and not more than 100 outdoors.

Only 50 people following all COVID19 protocols can attend funerals

Alcohol sales restricted from Monday to Thursday from 10h00 till 16h00

Then there is a curfew where we are all supposed to be locked in from 22h00 till 04h00.

The irony though, one is still allowed to consume alcohol in a public establishment without following the COVID19 protocols, I mean who will drink through a mask, who will use sanitizer whilst eating, who will distance themselves from other patrons whilst visiting a drinking spot?

My questions: Why didn’t the President instead promote offsite alcohol use instead of being locked down into a confined space (for a lack of a better word) for a period of time?

This morning I tuned into radio, catch a conversation where one caller phoned in on Radio and share the daily routine, immediately when the caller mentioned Church visits, the talkshow host questions the caller, why are you still visiting the Church, what the host might have overlooked, is that we go to work daily, we visit shopping malls frequently, we attend funerals as and when required, some go to drinking spots frequently.

Why do we overlook all other functions but are concerned about the Church?

Are we not following the same COVID19 protocols at Church?

Are we even following COVID19 protocols strictly at other places of gatherings? Are we mindful how many people we interact with at our workplaces, at our shopping sprees, at our drinking spots? If we know, why are we so concerned about what happens at the Church.

PPE for all Your COVID19 Concerns Your Health and Safety …

Get Your PPE here… https://lllpg.com/2rkm65tg/ 

SO many questions ... SO little answers ...

Did we forget the poorest of the poor?

Some would ask... What are you getting at? The question however remains; Did we forget the poorest of the poor?

I am not asking this question because its nice to ask, I am asking it because I see no improvement, 1) In the lives of our poor people 2) In the conditions 3) In the delivering of services!!!

Where did it all go wrong though? It went wrong immediately after those in power decided to ignore their plea. One would recall during this year's municipal elections when prominent leaders were on the campaign trail most of them were lambasted. There was even a time where the ruling party and the official opposition had a toilet fight, yes they tried to compete as to who was better or worse when it come to the issue of sanitation.

Today however is not to talk about toilets or the provision of services. Today I want to highlight the importance of a caring government. I'm not saying that our Government in South Africa is not caring, what I am saying is that their programs is not beneficial to the poor. What a contradictory statement some would say?

Let's do some quick mental maths. Exempt taxi's and some busses (in fear of a revolt) who doesn't contribute to the GDP (with the exception of refuelling) or paying taxes, from paying of tollfees. Building or procuring a highspeed train that doesn't serve it's purpose (which was to reduce traffic congestion and provide alternative means of public transport). Then force the already cashed strapped public to pay for tollfees in excess of more than R50 per single trip from one city to another.

I am convinced that this wasn't thought through as the very means of fuel or food transportation are charged almost R100 per single trip from one city to another. This has resulted in regular and uneven increases on food and fuel prices.

The poorest of the poor therefore suffers the most when it comes to the availability of essential household items. Paraffin which is use at almost every informal settlement is priced at more than the price for petrol or diesel. To buy a loaf of bread is almost also equivalent to the price of these fuels.

My question therefore remains...

SO many questions - SO little answers...