Opposition Leader probes gov’t: Where is national response plan?

LEADER of Opposition Matthew Wale has called on the Government to announce its national response plan urgently before the lockdown ends.

The Opposition Leader said since the outbreak last week, the government is yet to announce any COVID national response plan for the whole country.

Mr Wale said the Oversight Committee last week said they have just finalised the national response plan on Sunday 23^rd Jan 2021, and Cabinet should have deliberated on it on Tuesday 25^th.

However, Opposition Leader Hon Wale said there is still nothing of such made known to the public.

“The government should not wait until the end of the lockdown to make the announcement,” he said.

Mr Wale said in fact the government should already have a national COVID response plan already in place to respond to the current outbreak in the country.

The Opposition Leader said the current measures undertaken by the government has indicated that our response is based on panic reactions and the government does not have a well thought out plan to address this current situation.

Mr Wale said the response so far indicated a lack of foresight, direction and leadership.

He said these must be remedied urgently.

“It is clear the government has mishandled and underestimated the situation and we have been caught off guard. But it is never too late to plan and do the right thing now,” he said.

Mr Wale said by now a national response strategy should already be announced so that everyone is aware on what to do when the lockdown ends.

“What happens after the lockdown ends?” If there is an extension of the lockdown, are we prepared? What about our response plans for affected provinces like Guadalcanal, Makira, Malaita and Western provinces? “ he questioned.

The Leader of Opposition also called on the Prime Minister and the government to clarify response plans for the affected provinces some of who are doing their own lockdowns.

Mr Wale said currently there are a lot of confusions and provincial governments are working in isolation because there is no coordination and direction from the national government on what to do next.

ENDS//