Stop whining and unite to fight the virus

It has been difficult to imagine the new atmosphere: a South Africa free of political bickering, posturing and point-scoring.

In a rare positive mood sweeping through the country, Covid-19 initially saw leaders of political parties burying whatever hatchet they had to meet at the Union Buildings to find consensus on a plan to deal with a common enemy – the coronavirus.

Overwhelming support for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s strategy in response to the virus, cut across party politics. There was a declaration of a national state of disaster, a countrywide lockdown and the deployment of security forces to ensure adherence to regulations.

The line of command on how to deal with the virus impact was clear: driving the campaign is the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) led by Ramaphosa and Cabinet ministers, cascading into provincial command councils led by premiers.

With Ramaphosa and members of the NCCC criss-crossing the country to conduct assessments, all seemed seamlessly perfect.

But an ANC-led government in a good relationship with the Democratic Alliance (DA)-led Western Cape administration has been too good to be true.

Cracks in the unity to fight the pandemic have now begun to show.

In the past few weeks, we have seen the pandemic being reduced to a political spat between the DA and the ANC, with a catalogue of stand-offs including:

• The Eastern Cape-governed ANC threatening to take the DA-run Western Cape to court over the movement of people “without permits” to the Eastern Cape, which has now become the second coronavirus-affected area in the country, after the Western Cape.
• The DA expressing outrage at Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni’s relief fund being geared to only assist previously disadvantaged black-owned businesses, a matter DA National Council of Provinces MP Dennis Ryder has described as “dangerous, irrational and a race-based criteria on Covid-19 relief funding”.
• DA unease with plans by government to deploy to the Western Cape ministers Bheki Cele, Fikile Mbalula, Ibrahim Patel, Pravin Gordhan, and Barbara Creecy to bolster the Covid-19 battle in the province.

With over 27,000 cases and several deaths, the Western Cape has been leading other provinces – a cause for concern.

If the deployment of ministers to assist the province is a well-intentioned move, there should be no suspicion that Ramaphosa is out to micromanage the Western Cape, or the ANC wants to score cheap political points.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura put it so well: “You cannot manage a pandemic taking an ideological or political approach – whether you are in Gauteng, Western Cape or Eastern Cape.

“We are dealing with a disease, which knows no politics, colour, party or gender.

“You cannot blame your neighbour when your children are not going to school.

“For us, it would be heartless to celebrate when Western Cape Covid-19 numbers go up above Gauteng, because we are all fighting the same pandemic.

“We are the same people.”

Simply put, no whingeing, or an unknown fear of a political takeover, should be bigger than a unity to fight Covid-19.

Brian Sokutu.

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