To manage the coronavirus threat, leaders must lead

There are ominous signs in the sky. The dark clouds that signal the arrival of the third Covid-19 wave in Tanzania are on the horizon.

The alarm bells started ringing when news of a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases in some of Tanzania’s neighbours started to filter in, with nations such as Uganda and Zambia reporting thousands of new cases daily.

Recording over 30,000 cases in one month, this is the biggest wave in Uganda. During that time, over 200 people, including nine doctors, have died. The sharp increase in cases is blamed on new variants, forcing the government to introduce yet another lockdown to get on top of the situation.

With such melancholic news so close to home, Tanzania had to take note. Feelings of exceptionalism aside, rules of the game appear to be changing.

Thence, the government, through one of the directors at the Ministry of Health, Dr Leonard Subi, informed the public that “(there were) indications of the occurrence of the third wave of Covid-19”, and reminded people that “the role of protection against this disease belongs to each of us”. He went further by urging leaders “to inform all citizens to take all necessary precautions to protect themselves”.

It’s quite refreshing to see the government doing what a government ought to do – demonstrating the duty of care. As far as the pandemic is concerned, Tanzanians have lived like orphans for a long time. That said, the statement falls short of providing clear leadership for the nation. It may be that some officials are still recovering from the virus denialism malady of the past. However, when faced with a deadly disease, they have to up their game – fast.

To start with, they should stop being too concerned about not causing panic. You can’t expect people who were forced to live in denial to suddenly overreact. They have eyes and ears too. On the contrary, what Tanzanians need is a healthy dose of fear after their senses had been dulled by months of misinformation. Acting cool when you have a snake in your house is not bravery, but folly.

Secondly, if the ministry expects Tanzanians to listen, they need to ask someone with true gravitas to pass the message. Let’s not forget that the ministry is sounding the alarm after so much effort was made to make people believe that there was no danger. So, to get people to pay attention, they need to use a megaphone. The Health minister, not a director, would have been ideal, but we know why people won’t take her very seriously. Someone fresh, from up there – I think the Vice President – needs to be the government’s face in this war.

Finally, the government needs to move to action, rather than merely issue directives. Did public gatherings get smaller because of the ministry’s announcement? Not according to last weekend’s reports. So, asking people to take precaution – even by engaging their leaders – may not be enough. Moreover, it’s not enough for government officials, even the President herself, to be seen wearing masks in public. As commendable as those efforts are, the government needs to play a more proactive role in managing the pandemic.

Let’s illustrate why this is absolutely necessary.

In Mexico City, a metropolis of 25 million people, there is a market called Central de Abasto, the world’s largest food and vegetables market, which serves up to half a million people on peak days. In the early days of the pandemic, the market was an infection hot spot, With 90,000 employees and 60,000 vehicles bringing supplies every day, social distancing and lockdowns were out of the question. So, what was the government to do?

What the Mexicans did highlights what our government ought to do today. The Mexicans sent 430 health workers and placed them at key intersections to take people’s temperature, issue masks and sanitising gel, and educate people about the pandemic. The number of infections plummeted.

Now, I’m not proposing that the government should place health workers everywhere (that may be justified in some cases). All I’m saying is that there are many situations where individual initiatives won’t keep people safe if others are lax about taking precautions – public transport, schools, markets, restaurants, public gatherings, etc. What good are a person’s efforts in protecting his family if his kids go to school and interact with hundreds of other kids from not-so-vigilant families? This is the gap that no individual or NGO can fill, but the government.

Thankfully, that’s the role that the government played marvelously in the early days of the pandemic. I mean, one could go to any shop in Dar and find sanitiser, or water and soap outside. You could enter a daladala and find everyone seated. Only the government can achieve things like that.

To conclude, given how people have been denied agency for so long, it’s unrealistic to expect too much from them now. People are expecting leadership. They are waiting for the government to take a leading role, short of which we should simply brace for the worst.

So, leaders must lead.