21 Jan 2021

Ngamiland District Emergency Operation Committee has resolved to revive the Village Emergency COVID-19 response teams to facilitate preventive measures and COVID-19 protocol compliance in the villages and their catchment areas.

The village response teams were formed during the initial lockdown last year and disbanded afterwards.  

The resolution was made during a consultative meeting on January 20 necessitated by the escalating numbers of positive cases recorded in the district.

To date, it was reported that cumulatively the district had registered 412 positive cases and 11 deaths, of which three were recorded in the Okavango Sub- district and eight in the Ngami area.

Out of the registered cases, it was reported that currently Ngami had 225 active cases while Okavango had 15 cases with the burden of the disease mostly in areas of Maun, Gumare and Shakawe, the gate ways to the Okavango Delta.

However, members noted that the biggest problem in the district was non-compliance to COVID-19 protocols.

They said members of the community continued to violate protocols despite efforts to spread message of compliance and prevention through different platforms.  

They believed that resuscitating structures in villages and engaging traditional and political leaders across the district to liaise with the community on issues of COVID-19 could help to arrest the situation.

Earlier, committee leader, Mr Keolopile Leipego, who is also the district commissioner, stated that they were disturbed by the rapidly increasing cases, hence the need to think of new ways to curb the spread.

He revealed that it was clear that compliance rate within communities had declined drastically, thus called for the committee to engage all existing structures to mobilise the community members to change their behaviour.

The DC cited some of the structures such as COVID scorpions, saying they were not visible and stressed the need to engage them to play their role of disseminating information, monitoring and encouraging people to ensure 100 per cent compliance at all time.

Mr Leipego expressed concern that members of the community were also reluctant to embrace the new normal as they still wanted to stick to their old ways of living.

“Our biggest problem is compliance rate at individual, households and community level. The community members have  neglected their role in the fight against coronavirus and I believe engaging community structures will work as they will deal with the problem from the grassroots,” he added.

The district commissioner believed that having active structures could be the best solution to the current situation.

Officer commanding, Senior Superintendent Peter Gochela concurred that non-compliance was the biggest problem, stating that since the introduction of curfew, they had charged 2028 people for violating the regulations.

Senior Supt Gochela also acknowledged the suspension of alcohol sale, saying it had eased their burden. Ends