Uncle Harvest: Dichotomy between Policy and Action: Covid19 Prevention Measures

In the past few days, social media has been awash with an advertisement for a MEGA political rally at Masintha ground in Lilongwe city, organised by the Malawi Congress Party. The rally will be preceded by a youth match that will cover over five kilometres.

The Malawi Congress Party is the lead Party in the Tonse Alliance coalition government led by President Dr Lazarus Mc. Chakwera.

At the same time, the Ministry of Health daily updates on Covid19 status in the country has been showing a daily rising number of people that are testing positive to Covid19, albeit slow.

Lately, three cases of the Omicron variant have been identified.

In her daily briefings, Khumbize Kandondo Chiponda, has been emphatic on the need for all residents of Malawi to remain vigilant; wash hands with soap/use hand sanitizer, put on face masks while in public, and practice social distancing, as basic prevention mitigation measures.

For the Malawi Congress Party to organise a mass rally at such a time as this, is to take a wrong action in contrast to existing government policy.

This dichotomy compromises the integrity of government in so far as policy implementation is concerned.

The MCP, of all parties in this country, must be the last to act in contradiction of policies of the government it leads.

This Mega Rally will be a covid19 and Omicron variant superspreader.

Only a few days ago, Norway identified 60 positive cases of covid19 from a single party event that hosted 150 guests at a Cafe, and 15 positive cases of people who visited the same Cafe after the party.

Scotland identified 5 omicron cases from people who had attended a single event.

Let us not cheat ourselves: it is not possible to enforce the wearing of face masks at such a rally.

It is practically impossible too to provide hand washing facilities.

A mega rally is a contradiction of social distancing in itself.

The Malawi Congress Party must lead by example by cancelling the planned rally.

The predicament in which the Party is in is understandable, especially in the light of recent demonstrations and public discontent and out cries due to the rising cost of living.

The need to showcase strength is clear. The mechanism of doing so in the envisage form, in the light of Covid19, is not the right one.

As government policyholders, the MCP cannot ill afford to set a wrong precident that will make enforcement of government covid19 measures a mockery.

May commonsense rein!