We need to go back to basics, President Cyril Ramaphosa intoned to the country in the latest "family meeting" on the Covid-19 pandemic, without, apparently, any sense of irony given government’s gross failures in managing the response to the outbreak.
Instead, and again rather ironically, Ramaphosa reminded us of his first address to the nation at the start of the state of disaster, when he warned that, while the virus will pass, it would be up to us to determine how long it would last, and how damaging its impact.
We remember that address clearly, remembering our pride at his decisive leadership, how we quietly committed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our president to fight off any scourge — an invisible viral killer then, but even, at any other time, a peopled monster intent on destroying our country.
Our patriotic anticipation of a good fight was short-lived.
The state Ramaphosa leads showed it was not up to the task of performing in the interests of the populace during the national lockdown, through the abusive actions of police and army forces. Next, the country struggled to grasp the irrationality of measures imposed, ostensibly preventative acts to avoid infection, but in reality idiosyncratic diktats ranging from the ridiculous to the oppressive.
Government was inured to the citizenry’s restiveness, mainly, we found out later, because the attention of many cadres was on how much rent-seeking they could score from corrupt emergency measures to buy PPE.
Instead of honest self-reflection, Ramaphosa sought to hide government incompetence by reciting the problems with AstraZeneca dosages
And then came an inability to properly plan vaccine procurement, causing us to be among the lowest-ranked countries in vaccination take-up.
Instead of honest self-reflection, Ramaphosa sought to hide government incompetence by reciting the problems with AstraZeneca dosages – found to be a weak measure against the local coronavirus variant – and later, with US contamination of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
As far as our hapless government is concerned, we should be proud that 480,000 healthcare workers were able to get the J&J shot as part of an extended clinical trial, instead of due to a properly executed procurement plan.
Ramaphosa says we cannot yet rely on a steady and sufficient supply of vaccine shots, and that thus far, our vaccination count is creeping up to four million, well under 10% of our population, and far below the 67% said to be required to ensure herd immunity.
When the pandemic's third wave is over, and even when the Covid-19 siege eventually ends, it will be despite the lack of effective, efficient and ethical governance, not because of it.
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