The tightening of police roadblocks on highways leading
into city and town centres yesterday was part of law enforcement measures to
contain the spread of Covid-19, and not meant to frustrate essential workers
and those in exempted businesses going to work, Government has said.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister
Monica Mutsvangwa said last night in her post-Cabinet briefing that the
prevalence of security checkpoints was consistent with the directive of the
Covid-19 National Taskforce to ensure that people stay at home if they had no
essential business to conduct.
“We are also making sure to prevent gatherings. The
President has announced that we are still at Level Two, which still prohibits
big gatherings, beyond 50 people. As much as our President has opened the
economy to make sure that industry operates, we still have to make sure that we
do adhere to the containment measures, otherwise the disease will spread. And
we are still telling our people to stay at home, and only go out there when it
is very important,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
“What the police is doing is in line with what the
taskforce has put in place and we are all singing from the same hymn book. If
there are particular cases being referred to, we would be interested as a
ministry to get that information so that we can deal with that particular case.
Otherwise we still stand with the containment measures of level two,” she said.
The checking of motorists and Zupco passengers in the
morning peak hour was taking time with very long queues forming at some
roadblocks. Police, with support of the army, were at some roadblocks,
particularly in Bulawayo, turning back some people in services deemed
essential, as well as those in exempted sectors and companies. At other
roadblocks, almost everyone in essential and exempted services was being
allowed through without a problem, but the process was time consuming.
Later in the day most roadblocks in most urban areas had
speeded up the checking processes and were not blocking those who could show
they were in essential services or exempted businesses and needed to be in the
city centres or transit the city centres to move from their home on one side to
their place of work on the other side.
The tightening of checks by the security services follows
an increase in the number of people in central business districts of all towns
and cities across the country, especially as more companies and sectors are
exempted from the lockdown. Police have reported that there are growing numbers
of people not in essential or exempted services moving around, particularly in
city centres.
The daily Covid-19 statistics issued yesterday recorded
four new cases, all among quarantined returning residents from South Africa,
bringing the cumulative total to 391. The number of people who have been
confirmed as fully recovered is now 62, cutting the number of active cases to
325, with the death toll remaining at four.
In Masvingo Province and city law enforcement agents
stepped up border patrols, and tightened up vetting of all vehicles at
roadblocks, to deal with the particular problem of border jumpers using haulage
trucks and illegal entry points to get into Zimbabwe. This follows a surge in
the number of border jumpers mainly from South Africa who are evading mandatory
quarantining upon returning to the country.
In Mutare there was increased security personnel on roads
leading into the city centre. At Mutare Teachers’ College and along Aerodrome
Road, police were demanding to see letters granting people permission to be in
the city centre, and some people were being turned back. Zupco buses were
scarce or unavailable in high density areas like Dangamvura and Chikanga,
leaving workers in exempted businesses and essential services stranded.
However, by midday those legally allowed to move or work
into the city centre were getting through roadblocks.
In Gwanda, the Matabeleland South provincial capital, there
was a heavy presence of both the police and the army enforcing compliance with
the lockdown guidelines.
The situation was the same in Beitbridge with police
details conducting patrols in suburbs and shopping centres in the border town.
In Marondera, Mashonaland East’s provincial capital, people
with no business in the town centre were being told to go home due to increased
enforcement of lockdown measures.
The situation was also the same in Mashonaland Central.
In the border towns of Chirundu and Kariba, the situation
was calm with people going about their normal business.
Businesses were open in Chirundu as people moved freely
while in Kariba people largely adhered to safety regulations, including wearing
face masks and maintaining social distance.
In a related matter, Government has gazetted the work of
Parliament as an essential service in terms of recently published Covid-19
regulations, Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda announced
yesterday. This followed a point of privilege raised by Manicaland proportional
representative Ms Joyce Makonya (MDC-A) that they were encountering
difficulties passing through security checkpoints.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi attributed the increased presence of police and other security details
to the need to prevent unnecessary movement of people.
“We have to remind people that we are still under lockdown,
and we have realised that there are many people that simply want to do their
business in town when they are not in essential services.
“That is why we have had the situations we have had in the
past few days,” Ass Comm Nyathi said.
He appealed to members of the public to avoid unnecessary
movements and to cooperate with security forces as they do their job.
He said anyone who had grievances with the conduct of the
police was free to approach senior officers for redress. Herald
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