Johannesburg – Foot in mouth disease is common, especially among politicians. It’s a pandemic among the governing class and there’s still no vaccine for it.
When he was transport minister, S’bu Ndebele once said traffic cops would be allowed to confiscate your vehicle if you’re caught driving under the influence and the car would be deemed a weapon.
Indeed his cops did exactly that but the motorists successfully approached the courts and Ndebele’s department was left with a bloody nose.
Frustrated by speeding motorists, Ndebele again put his foot in his mouth when he unilaterally claimed the maximum speed would be lowered to 100km/h from the current 120km/h on freeways.
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Then there was former energy minister Buyelwa Sonjica who, in the throes of load-shedding in 2009, told the nation to stop bickering and go to bed early.
That did not go down well with us. Another is former safety and security minister Charles Nqakula, who instead of assuring the people on what he was doing to fight crime, flippantly told those who complained to leave the country.
I’m sure you can remember many examples when politicians spoke before engaging their brains. Along comes Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba this week to shoot from the lip.
When the first vaccines arrived on our shores, we were assured that it would not be mandatory and those who chose not to vaccinate, would be aff orded their rights.
Now as the numbers of people taking the jab dwindle, Ramathuba and her colleagues are panicking.
She announced that she would lobby the liquor industry to prevent unvaccinated people from buying alcohol.
Considering how the booze industry is reeling from the fi ve alcohol bans since Covid-19 arrived last year, I doubt Ramathuba will find a sympathetic ear. Vaccine hesitancy has caught the government on the backfoot, but what the country needs are innovative solutions to entice people.
For instance, perhaps Ramathuba could urge the vaccine producers to make the vaccine oral, like for polio, instead of injectable.
As a matt er of fact, a UKbased biopharma company Stabilitech is developing a potential vaccine stable enough to post to citizens as a capsule.
I can assure her that washing that capsule down with their favourite beer is something many boozers will look forward to.
Otherwise her proposal will fuel the sale of fake vaccine cards that’s already started to happen.
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