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Nevison Bara
Herald Correspondent
At a recent Cabinet meeting, it was resolved that all civil servants be vaccinated in line with Covid-19 protocols, leaving those who do not want to be vaccinated to choose not to report for duty.
This seemingly draconian condition of employment might seem to be infringing on the rights of the individuals that do not want to be vaccinated as it leaves them with no choice.
However, this move has to be looked at through the big picture. In any case this is not a move peculiar to Zimbabwe only, as also recently United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring all United States federal employees to be vaccinated.
The executive order even goes further to specify that companies with 100 000 employees and above should ensure their workers are vaccinated or that they test them weekly failure of which they are fined thousands of dollars per employee.
This American executive order came barely a few days after Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi set the tone for the Zimbabwe situation at a meeting in Chinhoyi where he explained that while the Government respects the provisions of individual rights as provided for in the Constitution, individual rights should not infringe on the rights of the majority and what is a public good.
Therefore the Cabinet order is not at all derived from the American stance, but instead what is happening elsewhere vindicates Government thinking and action.
We had to put this in bold because some oppositional characters to Government stance on vaccination appear to think that the authorities are just following what others are doing without serious thought to it.
It is a fact that Zimbabwe has shone the light in dealing with Covid-19 administration to the rest of the continent. The Government deserves commendation on this.
A professor at some university in a far afield land, on being asked by a student what he had to say on their university requirements on vaccination as “an infringement on their rights of free movement . . .” had this to say and will quote in verbatim:
“We already infringe on your movements. You can’t cross the border without a passport. You can’t drive a car without a licence. You can’t ride the bus without a pass. You can’t cross the street unless the light is green. You can’t enter a nightclub unless your ID card says you are over 18. You can’t enter private property and the university is private property . . . unless the owners give you permission.
“Moreover, you can’t inject heroin into your veins because that is against the public good. You can’t drive your car as fast as you want because that is against the public good. You can’t defecate on the sidewalk because that is against the public good. And you can’t come to campus without being vaccinated because that is against the public good.
“A free society is not anarchic society. If you do not want to be vaccinated, you have the freedom not to come to campus.”
It is an accepted reality that Covid-19 is a global pandemic and Government swiftly declared it a national disaster early last year, 2020. It is reported elsewhere that Cuba is vaccinating as people as young as two-year-old whilst Australia was giving the jab to 12-year-olds.
So, yes there will be grumblings around and among civil servants, but it is for the good of the public that Government has been forced to take the seemingly draconian position. It is a move showing a Government so sure footed in decision making and on this one the whole nation must stand behind it.
Covid-19 is not for politicking, but decisive action. Government employees are thus implored to stand behind their employer and support it too if they believe in the basic tenets of employer-employee relations. And on this one the employer is right. Get vaccinated.
It is either the homeland or not!
Online Reporter