It took a huge amount of public pressure to drag health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize to a press conference on January 3 to answer a question of life-threatening proportions: where the hell are the vaccines?
It did not help that we could only stare in envy and wonderment as citizens of richer countries appeared on television with long-needle jabs disappearing into their upper arms.
But what provoked angry questions here at home was news that less wealthy countries such as Colombia and Algeria obtained life-saving vaccines for their people. Slowly the pressure built on social media and in print — what is going on? Where is our leadership? When will we get the vaccines?
The minister’s press conference and surrounding public statements by health authorities revealed two disturbing things. Our government is woefully underprepared for the vaccine question and we are in serious trouble with respect to vaccinations in 2021.
To begin with, you don’t warn civil society against raising “false hopes and expectations” or expressing “a demanding anger” or “impatience” — the words of Barry Schoub, the chairperson of the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19 vaccines. The public has a right to know, to feel anxious and to demand answers in the devastation around us.
Rule number one about public leadership in a national crisis: communicate with the people, and by that I mean on a regular basis.
The responses of the minister and his director-general, Dr Sandile Buthelezi, to the vaccine question certainly did not inspire confidence. They promised delivery as if this were the state of the nation address, where you can deliver platitudes and promises — such as one million houses in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township (how is that promise going?) — without any consequences. This crisis is not about houses, it is about life.
Rule number two about leading in a crisis: tell the truth.
In a radio interview this week, former public protector Prof Thuli Madonsela made several important points. This must be a difficult period for government, with answers to all questions less than clear. Fine. But then tell people what you know, what you do not know and when they might know more about the critical issue of vaccines.
What is known is that we did not start planning for the purchase, delivery and rollout of vaccines until late in 2020. When other countries were negotiating with vaccine manufacturing companies and paying deposits, SA did not appear to be in the mix. We do not do long-term planning in Mzansi; we do political positioning instead.
So I went back to read the once well-touted National Development Plan (NDP) 2030. Of course, there was not a single word on pandemics in the Promoting Health chapter (10) among the goals and priorities; so much for prescience. Unfair? No. Other countries had pandemic playbooks.
But the point about the NDP is its lofty goals and the collapse of the national health system under incompetence and corruption even before the pandemic. As a result, when the crisis came, we had no money for upfront payments.
Rule number three: plan for disaster.
The truth is that we will certainly not vaccinate 40 million people by the end of 2021; even receiving vaccines in the first quarter was given a “fairly confident” assessment by the director-general of health — hardly words of conviction. At best, the 40 million announcement is unrealistic; at worst, it is a lie. As some joker put it, we cannot even deliver that number of toilets.
If the rollout of vaccines in wealthy countries has taught us anything in the past few weeks, it is that securing a vaccine is one thing; the huge logistical operations that lie between central storage and human arms is something else. We simply do not have the sophisticated infrastructure to make this happen, even if there were sufficient double doses for that number of citizens.
Rule number four: face reality.
We need concerted action from the centre — this is one time when top-down leadership matters, for the single most important duty of government is to keep its citizens safe.
In the meantime, we need concerted action from the centre — this is one time when top-down leadership matters, for the single most important duty of government is to keep its citizens safe. And right now, our people are falling like flies. The vaccine is an absolute priority and should be led by President Cyril Ramaphosa with the best scientific and logistical expertise available; I cannot see this getting done without the private sector playing a leading role. Regardless, we need action.
Rule number five: demonstrate purpose, though mixed with a healthy dose of humility.
This year is going to be bleak before it gets better. The time lag between phased-in vaccinations and some form of herd immunity means thousands more could potentially die before we’re all safe, unless we prepare the ground for the long haul. This means an intensive public health education strategy. It means rethinking the way teaching and learning happens. It means learning to work with the virus among us.
Rule number 6: do long-term planning.
Finally, we are in this tragic situation with respect to vaccine delivery because government leadership dropped the ball in early to mid-2020, when other governments were making plans.
Rule number 7: acknowledge mistakes, but for heaven’s sake, learn from them and give our people a much better chance of survival.
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