By Martin Mawaya
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Central Region Chairperson Kudakwashe Munengiwa said the levels of poverty in Zimbabwe remains the key pushing factor in the spread of coronavirus.
He said in order to contain the spread of Covid-19, the government must put in place necessary measures that alleviate the livelihoods of citizens to avoid the unnecessary movements.
“People need the necessary safety nets such as food provision and making sure that they have something to survive from, because poverty is rife and people are risking their lives to the pandemic trying to earn a living,” he said.
Munengiwa said “in order to win the war against the pandemic the government needs to put all stakeholders on the deck so that the country can take the robust action that compliments lockdown measures.
“Because the lockdown measures without other strategies will not be enough and sustainable as the people will be forced to defy the measures in search of other means for survival,” he explained.
The unavailability of safety nets have seen most people disregarding the lockdown measures with vendors and money changers resurfacing in the Central Business District (CBD) despite the heavy presence of security agents.
Police have been struggling to contain the number of people who get into town, with hundreds of offenders being picked up each day.
Shebeens are reported to be rampant in high density suburbs such as Mambo, Mkoba 6, Mtapa and Ascot despite the dangers of contagious disease.
Meanwhile, the government has for the past weeks put in place a cocktail of measures including the dispatching of health personnel at the roadblocks and introducing stiffer penalties to those found breaking the lockdown regulations.
