President Ramaphosa must explain who dropped the ball on Covid-19 vaccine
3 December 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to use the opportunity of his impending address to the nation to explain who dropped the ball on the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Reports today indicate that South Africa has missed the payment deadline for participation in the Covid-19 initiative that would have given the country access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
It is unclear who has bundled the process between National Treasury and the Department of Health. It is unthinkable that the South African government would not be on top of a process this crucial for our country. Thousands have lost their lives to this pandemic and millions have joined the unemployment lines due to the prolonged national lockdown.
It is clear that we cannot afford yet another hard lockdown. Therefore, our energies must be directed to obtaining a vaccine for our frontline workers and rolling it out as quickly and as efficiently as possible.