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Government urged to allow private sector to procure COVID-19 vaccines

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Lobby group, Afriforum, and trade union, Solidarity, are urging the government to allow the private sector to purchase and distribute vaccines to combat the coronavirus.

Afriforum says government has admitted under oath in its court documents that there is no legal restriction on the private sector to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.

The two organisations had taken the government to court to declare any legal exclusion of the private sector regarding the purchase of vaccines unconstitutional.

Trade union Solidarity’s, Dirk Hermann, has told the media in Pretoria that the private sector must be involved.

Afriforum’s Ernst Van Zyl says allowing the private sector to purchase and distribute the vaccines would make the country’s rollout more efficient and corruption-free.

“Afriforum argues that the government monopolising the vaccine drastically infringes on the basic rights of all South Africans. The private sector’s participation in the purchasing and distribution of the vaccines is essential for the protection of constitutional rights of access to healthcare. Apart from the possibility of abuse of power by the government, its track record of corruption and maladministration during the pandemic does not inspire confidence in anyone at all,” says Van Zyl.

This comes amid the Western Cape government’s plan to procure vaccines independently of the African National Congress-led government.

A move Gauteng premier, David Makhura, says is a pipedream.

He was responding to a DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga’s question on why the province was not directly procuring COVID-19 vaccines from big pharmaceuticals to fast-rack the province’s target to vaccinate over 10-million people.

Makhura says pharmaceutical companies are putting pressure on governments to sign agreements to absolve them from any risks. He says it is therefore important for the procurement of vaccines to be centralised.

“Vaccine federalism will not work. You will fall into the trap of these big pharma. Big pharma acts on its own interest. When people get disease big pharma makes big money. So set aside that illusion honorauble Msimang. That is a dangerous illusion you will set out this country,” says the Gauteng Premier.

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