The ManicaPost
AS people from across the world join forces to stop the spread of Covid-19, it is a difficult time for humanity as this is uncharted territory.
This is a testing time for our resolve. We do not know when things will start to get back to normal, or what that new normal will look like, but we do know that in terms of large-scale events, they won’t be considered for the next few months.
So trade shows, conferences and awards ceremonies are off the agenda.
What we are seeking to avoid is people congregating in large numbers, for whatever reason.
What is also being discouraged is people inviting friends over.
People must simply keep their distance.
But some key economic activities should not and have not been interrupted since Zimbabwe went into lockdown 11 days ago.
President Mnangagwa has reiterated that Zimbabwe’s 21-day lockdown is not a shutdown.
For the past 11 days, citizens have been able to leave their homes in specific and important circumstances.
Those seeking food supplies and medical care have been doing so without any hindrance.
Businesses offering essential services continue to operate while all the other businesses are operating from home.
This fight against Covid-19 should not see us going backwards in terms of economic development.
Such is the essence of a lockdown — separating people so as so break the chain of the highly contagious disease while at the same time allowing the wheels of productivity to keep on turning.
Perhaps the confirmation that employees can deliver from home, without unnecessarily inflating administrative costs at their respective offices, might actually be the silver lining of this whole episode.
This might be the dawn of a new era for Zimbabwean businesses.
Traditionally, it has been believed that tangible productivity can only be realised from the confines of the office.
As Covid-19 exposes the world to a new way of doing things, those walls have been broken.
On the other hand, while Zimbabwe’s formal businesses have managed to smoothly adjust to the new way of doing business, Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, which is largely informal, has encountered several hiccups.
This is really worrisome considering that the agricultural sector is one of the pillars of the national economy.
When the agricultural sector catches a cold, the whole economy sneezes.
Yet last week was not a very good week for Manicaland’s agricultural sector, which contributes significantly to the national economy through the supply of fruits and vegetables. In fact, Manicaland is probably the country’s biggest producer of horticultural produce.
But farmers from the province are counting their losses after their produce was confiscated by the police last week.
This created a void in the supply of fresh farm produce across the whole country.
However, there is no use in crying over spilt milk. Getting to the root cause of the problem will enable the nation to address it once and for all.
Most farmers — not only those in Manicaland but those from across the whole country — have largely remained in informal circles. Very few of them are in formal supply chains to feed into established bigger markets.
Due to this, open markets like Sakubva and Mbare Musika see farmers and their clientele converge on a daily basis despite the health concerns that come with such overcrowded facilities, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Authorities need to urgently look into the business model being utilised at these open markets as they resume business.
Linking farmers with formal markets could go a long way in enabling them to be more productive.
On our part, practising social distancing and good personal hygiene should not end with Covid-19.
It is a new culture that humanity must adhere to for the sake of posterity.
In this fight against Covid-19, we are not doing it for the police or the Government. Each one of us is doing it for themselves, their loved ones and the next person.
