Mogomotsi Mogodiri
Pretoria - While the eyes of South Africans have been and are firmly fixed on the developing scandal, dubbed Dollagate, about the burglary that took place on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo and its concealment, two major developments took place almost at the same time.
An announcement was made that the “World Bank has approved a loan to the tune of R7.6 billion ($480 million) for South Africa’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Project”.
The report continues to state that “the loan comes following a request by the Government of South Africa (GoSA) for assistance in financing vaccine procurement contracts. Specifically, this project will retroactively finance the procurement of 47 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by the GoSA”.
A few days later, like a bolt from the sky, Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla, announced that all restrictions, including the wearing of masks in public places and numbers for indoors imposed as part of the fight against Covid-19, were lifted.
The minister said “this comes as the country experiences low Covid-19 infections and related deaths”.
Hence, the government decided to end the restrictions while still urging people to take care of themselves by adhering to hygiene measures like washing of hands.
Curiously, there was not even a whisper about vaccination, let alone it being made mandatory.
Without reading too much into these developments, it is clear that the loan is meant for vaccination, while our country has lifted all the Covid-19-related restrictions. Otherwise, what is the real motive?
This question should be viewed against the backdrop that this is a second loan in a matter of months from the IMF, ostensibly to bolster the fight against Covid-19.
On the other hand, a suspicious and sinister move by some major companies is being made. Employers are overzealously enforcing their “mandatory vaccination policies as part of efforts to promote safety in the workplace”.
This step is weird and worrying, especially viewed against the backdrop of the government having lifted all restrictions related to Covid-19 – unless the employers know something ordinary South Africans are not aware of.
What about the statement that the latest, unexplained IMF loan, is meant for the fight against Covid-19? What is the catch?
The lifting of all restrictions and the recent World Bank loan to “mitigate against the effect of Covid-19” seem to be strange bedfellows.
If indeed the minister of health and other powers that be believe we have passed the Covid-19 danger, why the huge, debilitating loan when there are other more pressing matters, including grinding poverty and a wobbling economy that need to be proritised? I smell a rat, given what transpired with the money allocated to fight Covid-19.
Let us remind ourselves. A large number of government departments and agencies, including the Gauteng, Limpopo and Eastern Cape provincial governments, let alone the police, are mired in the procurement and other scandals related to Covid-19.
It is a relief that the draconian restrictions are history, as South Africans are still struggling to get back on our feet, with the economy in the doldrums due to that.
We are alive to the fact that the government intends amending health regulations to provide itself with far-reaching, arbitrary and draconian powers under the guise of amending the Health Act to allow for screening and tracing for notifiable diseases.
It is also curious that these amendments are being pushed through while sidestepping Parliament.
Forced vaccination is against the law. Section 8 of the National Health Act, No 61 of 2003 provides for informed user consent. We have also not forgotten that President Ramaphosa gave us his word that “no one will be forced to vaccinate”.
We should also not allow our sovereignty to be surrendered to the IMF, World Bank and other imperialist institutions and forces. South Africans must therefore be extremely vigilant as a new attack on their freedoms, lives and sovereignty is lurking.
Pretoria News