The only reason I detest #COVID19 is that it infects everyone that loves you or wants to show you some love and care.
What kind of demonism is that? You make me sick then go after my family, the doctors, and nurses?
Other than that, the recovery rate gives humanity hope. Heard carbon level in the earth has reduced, we are now learning to take care of ourselves and our environment.
Now, this is aimed to be a problem-solving post for Plateau State. We all know some of the problems, it’s our focus I want to shift.
A lot of us in Plateau have focused our attention on the “palliative” side of the solution. God knows I hated that word from the first day I heard it. In the true meaning of the word, it wasn’t intended to be a solution but a temporary relief.
Ergo, palliatives are not solutions, as much as I’d want to give commendations, I think the voice of the people, in this case, wasn’t the voice of God.
“When people speak with their stomachs and private parts growling, I take it with a grain of salt” …Ndam Ponzing.
Lol, I now put my words in quotes cause I am becoming profound at this.
First off, the government cannot provide palliatives for everyone, and as such the venture should have been considered last on the list, If it needed to be considered.
What the government ought to have considered was to ensure the availability of basic food supplies at favorable market rates. Anyone who has gone to the market recently will tell you the upsurge in the prices of food. This could have been avoided, and can still be corrected.
1. Set up community markets to ensure that when the pandemic reaches the stage of community infection, it can be controlled to a particular area at best. Out rightly ban major markets especially Terminus and Farin Gada markets.
2. Activate agricultural boards and government authorized middlemen to move around the LGA’s buy products at fair prices and sell them at fair prices.
This will enable the government map out its areas of strength, available food supplies and still ensure some funds. A lot of farmers in the poultry line had to sell of products at far less their value to get funds.
Transparency must be key in this. An open ledger ought to be adapted with oversight from the government and monitoring from a civic organization like FollowTheMoney.
With the whole debacle surrounding subsidies, we must avoid them at all costs. We cannot afford to encourage corruption while others are dying.
3. There used to be silos for storage in Plateau State, I don’t know if they’re State-owned, if not a PPP should be entered into or compulsory acquisition can be done for overriding purposes. No single grain must waste.
4. We do not have adequate storage capacity; with the contagion rate of the virus, we must assume that like past pandemics, this can go on for about five months to about a year. A PPP should be entered into with owners of storage units. If they refuse, acquire it compulsorily, let them go to court.
We must ensure that those who survive C19 do not die from starvation.
A) We must consider traditional methods of processing and preservation for perishable goods especially tomatoes and peppers on a large scale. Every community has its skills, we must adapt and work with efficiency.
5. Banks have been a severe pain in the butt during this pandemic. This is the age Fintech must take more customers from banks.
The system that attracted people to OPay wasn’t just the tricycles and the pleasure of been picked in your house. It was the ease of payment.
Subliminally, OPay was a bank.
My friend Daser Retnan has a Working Fintech company (LogicalAddress). Instead of making people queue at the banks (further encouraging the spread of Covid-19), we can make it easy to make #100 transactions with #5 charges per transaction.
6. A lot of pressure has been put on the Hon. Commissioner for Health, and rightly so.
I think he needs to appoint a Deputy Director who is a specialist in Virology and pandemics. It’s either he is out of his area of expertise or the workload is too much.
A) The Hon Commissioner must set up lines of communication with the Hon. Com of Information and the Hon. Com. Science and Tech (remember PICTDA) has integrated tech into border checks.
B). The Government must fast track one of the new legacy hospitals it is building as a matter of necessity to be converted into an Infectious Disease Control Hospital. Specialization improves efficiency!
C) We must start our own research on this virus.
D) Some cases have been made for traditional medications. As much as I have reservations, we should at the least consider it on its own merits.
7. Most importantly, security. It’s an open secret that our security apparatus is weak. With the history of violence in Plateau and the attacks in some communities still ongoing, community solutions need to be considered. I don’t understand the model of community policing we want to engage in, but I think we should think this one through and not just do something because we want to be seen as doing something.
Finally, this is the part where I say:
“Throw away all the procedures and cut all the red tapes, work with the information you have at hand, be flexible in decision making, and never regret a decision that led to mistakes”
This is a pandemic, with 4 cases in Plateau, we must act like we are at the community level of infection.
Stay safe for yourself and those you love.
Ndam Ponzing