Ndlozi’s criticism of ‘dropout’ Bill Gates’ Covid-19 Trevor Noah interview divides opinion

Economic Freedom Fighters MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah have divided opinion following an interview the latter had with American billionaire Bill Gates and his offer to help African countries amid the coronavirus outbreak.

President Cyril Ramaphosa shared a short video of an interview Noah had with Gates about the initiatives the Bill Gates Foundation has funded in the fight against Covid-19.

“They have offered assistance with innovative mass-based testing kits and research. I spoke to @BillGates and he commended the swift and decisive action South Africa has taken on #COVID19,” Ramaphosa’s tweet reads, along with a short clip of the billionaire explaining his efforts.

The @GatesFoundation has supported our health needs for many years. They have offered assistance with innovative mass-based testing kits and research. I spoke to @BillGates and he commended the swift and decisive action South Africa has taken on #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/CSfFLYqnzA

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) April 4, 2020

Gates said in part: “If we get the right testing capacity it could save, by literally millions, the number of people who are infected. Governments will eventually come up with lots of money for these things but they don’t know where to direct it, they can’t move as quickly. Because our foundation has such deep expertise in infectious diseases … We’ve thought about the epidemic, we did fund some things to be more prepared, like a vaccine effort. Of all the vaccine constructs, the seven most promising of those, even though we’ll end up picking at most two of them, we’re gonna fund factories for all seven just so we don’t waste time.

“For developing countries, it’s far harder and so these measures actually stop it from getting to the large part of the population, in places like India and Nigeria. I was talking to President Ramaphosa today, who is not only president of South Africa, he’s also the head of the African Union. He is a very strong voice there, encouraging African countries to act quickly when the number of cases is still fairly low, which is true throughout sub-Saharan Africa right now.”

Also read: Johnson & Johnson to start testing its Covid-19 vaccine by September

The longer version of the video was shared on The Daily Show‘s official Twitter and YouTube accounts.

“We can save months, and every month counts.” @BillGates and Trevor discuss combating coronavirus tonight at 11/10c pic.twitter.com/fYijnZa6tF

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) April 3, 2020

The interview has sparked a worldwide debate on Gates’ relief efforts and Noah – an African – being the one who interviewed him amid outrage over two French doctors’ suggestion for drug trials to be done in Africa.

Responding to one of his critics, Noah said: “Where in this entire interview do you hear either of us saying a vaccine will be tested in Africa? Are you confusing us with those French doctors or are you just trying to get retweets?”

Ndlozi added to the conversation and commented on Gates’ education qualifications, saying nothing qualified him to lead debates on vaccines and medical responses.

He tweeted: “Nothing qualifies the university drop out Bill Gates to lead debates on vaccines & medical responses to #covid_19 except that he holds shares in BIG pharmaceutical companies. It’s a FACT that Gates is an under educated computer nerd who dropped out of university to become rich!”

Nothing qualifies the university drop out Bill Gates to lead debates on vaccines & medical responses to #covid_19 except that he holds shares in BIG pharmaceutical companies. It’s a FACT that Gates is an under educated computer nerd who dropped out of university to become rich!

— Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (@MbuyiseniNdlozi) April 5, 2020

Some social media users have similarly been criticising Gates’ efforts and Noah interviewing him, while others have been dragging Ndlozi for criticising the successful billionaire’s involvement.

DA MP Phumzile van Damme was one of those who criticised Ndlozi.

“Neither does Ndlozi, his PHD is not in medicine. He may be a Dr but he is not a medical Dr. Think. He is at the forefront because he is the wealthiest & not only has money but access to the best experts. Get over yourselves,” she told one of his supporters.

This kind of thinking is tragic. A lot of work needs to be done educating people just how bad the #COVID19 pandemic is & how global collaboration is needed. SA cannot fight this on its own. Wake up people.
Please. https://t.co/06iGIvDsBT

— Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) April 5, 2020

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