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BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA CRISIS in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) has expressed concern over the apparent attempt by the government to sideline vulnerable citizens from the COVID-19 vaccination programme by prioritising the political elite. This came after head of monitoring and evaluation in the Health and Child Care ministry Robert Mudyiradima announced that government was failing to procure enough COVID-19 vaccine, adding that of the three million doses set to be acquired under the COVAX scheme and it would prioritise frontline healthcare workers, ministers, MPs, the security sector and senior government officials. 'While we applaud the move to prioritise vaccination of frontline health workers (who have largely been exposed to the pandemic due to lack of personal protective equipment at public hospitals) we bemoan the fact that the government has deliberately left vulnerable groups out of the vaccination programme,” CiZC spokesperson Marvellous Khumalo said in a statement. 'The COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed more than 1 000 lives, has largely affected ordinary Zimbabweans; most of whom are living far below the poverty datum line and cannot afford medical care.' Most Zimbabweans suggested on social media that a vaccine, not trusted by many, should be tested on government officials who make decisions and only cascade to the people once its efficacy has been proven on the officials. Many people in various countries have reportedly died due to side effects of the vaccines. But Khumalo said it was a known fact that over the years, Zimbabwe’s health sector had been in the intensive care unit and ordinary Zimbabweans have had to bear the brunt of a failed healthcare system. Following the announcement by Mudyiradima that government would prioritise ministers, MPs and top government officials, Khumalo said the COVID-19 pandemic had further exposed the rot within the health sector and it was highly irresponsible for the government to prioritise political elites while sidelining vulnerable citizens. He said over the years, we have witnessed cases of patients dying at public hospitals while top government officials, who are largely responsible for the rot in the health sector were seeking medical treatment abroad. 'For the government to prioritise the same people behind this rot is just but a confirmation of the fact that the welfare of ordinary citizens is secondary to our current crop of leaders,” Khumalo said. He said the CiZC would like to remind the government of its obligation to provide healthcare services to citizens as set out under section 76 of the Constitution. “Moreover, section 82 of the Constitution states that citizens over the age of 70 have the right to receive healthcare and medical assistance from the State while section 83 implores the State to provide medical care to persons with disabilities and it is a serious abrogation of duty for the government to sideline these vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 vaccination programme.” “The COVID-19 vaccine should never be a preserve for the elite and we
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
By Vernon A. Williams The United States of America boasts, “In God we trust,” claiming to be “One nation, under God, indivisible.” The rhetoric is pervasive but the reality is far more suspect. Few topics spark as much polarization as religion, but the conversation is imperative in these times of crisis. What is the status and future of religion […]
THE local film industry has for long been viewed with different lenses with some analysts saying it was in intensive care unit while others perceive it to be“clinically” dead.
Instead of the standard type of Super Bowl commercial this year. Budweiser will run a socially aware digital ad called \"Bigger Picture,\" focusing on COVID-19 vaccine education. Rashida Jones will narrate, and funds will be donated to the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative.
[Nyasa Times] Mighty Be Forward Wanderers captain Alfred Manyozo Jnr. has apologised to the team's fans in their 0-1 TNM Super League loss to Mafco at Kamuzu Stadium as well as his verbal retaliation against a supporter who is alleged to have uttered strong abusive words against him.
[JusticeInfo.net] Tunis -- Three parties and a president have produced bills aimed at national reconciliation, often driven by the desire to interrupt or even reverse the transitional justice process. They mark a failure on the part of politicians, and show how transitional justice in Tunisia is again subject to the vagaries of political calculations.
Burundi's longtime President Pierre Nkurunziza has congratulated the governing party's hand-picked successor on a \"large victory\" in the country's presidential election, though the main opposition has pledged to contest the result in court.
The election commission on Monday declared Evariste Ndayishimiye, a former army general chosen by the CNDD-FDD party as heir to Nkurunziza, the winner of the May 20 poll with 68.72 percent vote.
\"I warmly congratulate the President-elect General Major Evariste Ndayishimiye for his large victory which confirms that the great majority of Burundians adhere to the projects and the values he embodies,\" Nkurunziza, who chose not to run after 15 years in power, posted on Twitter.
On May 8, 12 days to the polls and before the scheduled arrival of an East African Community mission to the country, the government said the regional bloc's observers would have to be in quarantine for 14 days, effectively ruling them out of the election process.
Nkurunziza was this year elevated by Burundi's parliament to the rank of \"supreme guide for patriotism\" and he will continue to be chairman of the governing party's powerful council of elders.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Voters rebuffed President Donald Trump and nominated two Republicans he opposed to House seats from North Carolina and Kentucky on Tuesday.
Calls in higher-profile races in Kentucky and New York faced days of delay as swamped officials count mountains of mail-in ballots.
First-term state legislator Charles Booker was hoping a late surge would carry him past former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath for the Democratic Senate nomination from Kentucky.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., won renomination, cementing her rise from obscurity to progressive icon status when she ousted Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, on track to become speaker, from the New York City district.
In the big New York and Kentucky contests, Democrats watched whether nationwide protests sparked by last month’s killing of George
Floyd by Minneapolis police would translate to a decisive turnout by African American and progressive voters.
[The Conversation Africa] South Africa faces a quadruple burden of disease: HIV, tuberculosis (TB), noncommunicable diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and injuries. South Africa has more people living with HIV than anywhere else in the world. Around 13.5% of the country's total population has HIV.
We welcome the pronouncement of the President of Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali that his party and the Government are committed to easing racial tension in the country.
