
Zimbabwe: Statement by the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage on the Disappearence and Location of MDC Alliance Members (17.05.2020)



In a Republic, where the Members of Parliament just delivered 20 million shillings either to pet projects in their communities or directly back to the state. In the same Republic, where the MPs got 40 million shillings to vote in favour of praising the President. The COVID-19 Fund is asking all employees to contribute 10,000 shillings to the COVID-19. These are ordinary working folk, the ones who cannot even touch the NSSF Fund and get payback on their contributions there for their retirement. As in the time of need and during lockdown, the workers have been stifled and eaten beans.
Therefore, its mighty rich of the COVID-19 to ask the Chief Executives to stifle the workers and give them less salary so they can over the COVID-19 Fund. Just as the State is getting loans and grants from everywhere. From the World Bank, from the IMF and elsewhere. There is piling in money to cover the costs of the pandemic. Surely, this money will got 4W Drive SUVs for RDCs and High Ranking Officials. Not like this money will go to PPE, Nurses Salaries or anything substantial in the midst of a global pandemic.
So, its really disgraceful and distasteful to do this. To send a letter asking the Chief Executive to shave off salaries of the workers. Who has already struggled and need every shilling for their day to day expenses. Let’s be clear, let the wealthy, the factory owners, the foreign investors and the State House pay-off this. Lets use the Confidential Expenditure to cover the COVID-19 Fund. Instead of spending on side-dishes, ammunition and whatnot.
The COVID-19 Fund should appeal to the President and the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Economic Development (MoPFED). Not ask for donations from the average workers. That is like a volunteer tax. The state either taxes it directly or they get wealthy donations to the COVID-19. However, when the MPs and other state officials are eating large.
This sort of enterprise is insincere and disingenuous. Yes, the COVID-19 Fund is meant well, but what its asking for and the way they do it isn’t it. The state who has begged international donors to save its budget. Should use that to salvage this fund, not ask workers who couldn’t get monetary help during the lockdown. That is not right, but just deceitful. Peace.







Well, its about that time. Well, it isn’t really… Just another Sunday in quarantine and awaiting the “new normal” or back-to-life. If I may, this is about the news updates and the Omnibus Guidelines on community quarantine from the Inter-Agency Task Force of the Philippines. Which is fine by itself, but it’s sort of flexibility between similar terms can make a brother fuzz a little bit.
Because you have the “General Community Quarantine” for instance. Than you have the “Enhanced Community Quarantine”. If you thought it was tricky, no you have the “Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine” and the “Modified General Community Quarantine”. Last, but not least of these is the “Modified Community Quarantine”
The big one of these is the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) and the GCQ (General Community Quarantine). With the ones in between. A mind can be messed up by less. By all means, these words are in play, because of the variations of spread of COVID-19 and the ratio per capita. However, its still hard to know what all means. Even with the Omnibus Guidelines. Its a hectic mess.
In this sense, there is five quick types of Community Quarantine and to get the grip of that. We all there is levels to this, but just to listen. You could easily get confused. Very few read the whole Omnibus Guidelines and what it entails. It’s like a whole mix of statutes and measures. There isn’t in the guidelines any tables showing the vast difference. They are lined down after each other, but you have to really study it to see the minor differences.
Since, there is so many of them and the way they are mentioned in News Flashes on 24 Oras or other broadcasts. Its hard to follow or even get a grip. It isn’t well explained in a simplified fashion. Its all hectic and bunch of both legal terms and medical terms. Which in the end only confuse a brother even more.
It is easy to understand the basics, but when you blend in five types of quarantine and also has various of types of lockdowns. You just loose the understanding of things. It might been done for the common good, but the reality is that this shouldn’t be this hard.
You should easily know what to do in a quarantine. Whose allowed and what. Who should stay home, who can go to work and who has to close. If schools are open, if factories can remain open or closed. If ports can continue or if people can go to the market for a limited time. If there is a curfew and if they need a paper-stamped for passage through road-blocks. All of that would make sense.
However, when you have so many different terms, so many words and so many types. Its easy to be confused. Get your mind boggled. Especially, if a local mayor changes or Barangay Captain changes from one of those Modified Community Quarantine to a General Community Quarantine. Because, then what happens or is it just paper tigers playing around with words?
The essential thing so be to ensure the stop of the spread of COVID-19. That the public respect the quarantine and that the state delivers it promise of funds to its workers and the public in general. In the time of need. That the ones whose eating to much get called out and the get punished for the punitive damage they do to the other workers. When they are promised thousands of peso’s, but only getting leftovers. That’s not right and the ones eating the pork should be punished.
With this in mind, the variations of quarantine is a maze. You can wonder what does what and even reading the guidelines confuses me. Like I said, it would be nice with a table showing the difference. So its idiot proof. Nothing ever is, but simplifying things is positive. Especially, when you have such a vast lingo of terms. Peace.




