This speech was delivered by GOOD MP, Shaun August during the debate in Parliament today on the roll out of the Covid 19 Vaccine in South Africa.
23 February 2021
Speech by Shaun August MP
Chairperson…
Honourable Members…
GOOD welcomes the beginning of the vaccination drive in South Africa.
It is a moment of hope after a year of unprecedented trauma, disruption and loss.
But the arrival of the first vaccines on our shores does not signal that the war is over. Covid 19 is as unpredictable as it is deadly. Nobody, anywhere in the world, really knows what the next variant might bring.
It will take some time to vaccinate the critical mass of South Africans, and until we reach that tipping point we all have a duty to maintain our discipline and disrupt the possibility of another wave of transmissions.
Although we represent different parties in parliament, and have different roles to play in government, and holding government to account, navigating these unchartered waters is one of those moments when we must do our utmost to work constructively with each other.
Our citizens are not political footballs. Lives are at stake.
Let’s continue to focus on the science, and resist the temptation to score goals in an election year.
Let’s continue to preach the gospel of masking up, washing hands and maintaining social distance.
And let’s focus on the logistics of safely vaccinating the nation, while doing all that we can to continue supporting vulnerable people who have been most devastated by the economic turbulence.
Honourable Chairperson…
GOOD is very pleased that the vaccine will be free to all South Africans. This is not only fair, in our radically unequal society, it also shuts down opportunities for the crooks in the wings looking for opportunities to skim money off the project.
Anyone caught trying to sell the vaccine or jump the queue must be stopped and prosecuted. We must similarly tackle the destruction that fake news and misinformation wreaks.
Whilst thousands of South Africans have received the vaccine to date, we trust government will continue to update us on further roll outs in every corner of our country, so we can start rebuilding our society and fix South Africa – together.
GOOD encourages South Africans to take the vaccine at the earliest opportunity. This is how we move towards beating the pandemic.
I thank you.