31 Mar 2021

The President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has requested Parliament to approve an extension of the State of Public Emergency by six months from April 1 to September 30, 2021 as the challenges to combat COVID -19 pandemic remain.

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, President Masisi said given the achievements the country had attained during the State of Emergency and the dangers that remained, it would be premature to let the guard down.

Dr Masisi first declared the State of Public Emergency for six months on April 2 last year, using Section 17 of the Constitution, and the state of emergency was subsequently extended by a further six months.

“The State of Emergency was the strongest legal tool availed in our laws to provide sufficient legal leverage in disease containment and control,” he said.

President Masisi said, ‘our domestic pandemic scenario does not proffer respite from continued strict adherence to disease containment. It is way too premature, and it would be remiss for any responsible government to abandon the strategies that have so far saved the nation from peril.”

He also stated that the state of emergency would run from April 1 to September 30, 2021, adding that during the same period, there would be a curfew from 8 pm to 4 am.

“During this period, government may impose localised lockdowns to mitigate the rapid spread of the disease,” he said.

President Masisi said regulations introduced during the SOE could not be done under the Public Health Act as it was inadequate to enforce them.

He noted that during this period, he had the power to lockdown the whole country and to impose curfews to control the spread of the disease by limiting the movement of people.

Dr Masisi also pointed out that the state of emergency prohibited retrenchments where businesses were unable to pay salaries.

Mandatory testing of all people at all points of entry were introduced and people were also required to wear face masks and have inter-zonal movement permits.

Furthermore, he said the state of emergency provided for the suspension of transport permits and limitation of trading hours, and the number of people at social gatherings such as weddings, churches and funerals was restricted or banned completely such as workshops.

He also said government was able to fast track construction of ablution facilities in all public schools.

The government has also strengthened and expanded its COVID -19 testing to include high output laboratory based Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing at six strategic locations across the country.

“Government has also deployed point of entry rapid antigen testing at clinic level, and we are able to conduct our own COVID-19 genomic surveillance to better understand the variants that keep emerging,” he said.

The President said Botswana had been able to secure COVID-19 vaccines and warned that they ‘do not prevent against contracting the virus.’

He said the acceptance of the vaccines was based on their safety, quality and efficacy.

He however said ‘the country continues to face challenges and as at 26 March 2021, there were 37 452 local cases and 568 deaths recorded.’

President Masisi also pleaded with the nation to minimise travelling especially during the upcoming Easter Holidays.

He noted that it was unfortunate that there were people who continued to defy the health protocols with some spreading false information about the pandemic and proposed mitigation interventions by government.

The loss of lives, he said, should not be perceived as a sign of ineptitude and inefficiencies by government, adding that the emergence of COVID-19 variants remained a grave concern for Botswana and the world and they were highly transmissible, making prevention more complicated and unpredictable.

He urged MPs to put their political differences aside and act as a collective unit to help the nation through the pandemic. Ends