Opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) leader has launched fresh attack on President Adama Barrow administration for not taking the right approach to curb the surging COVID-19 Pandemic in the country.
“At the leadership and strategic level, the government has failed miserably to plan and execute an effective and comprehensive approach to this deadly disease,” said Ousainou Darboe, the Secretary-General and Party Leader of UDP.
Addressing the party 24th Anniversary, he said the government her served as Vice President cannot be absolved from its core responsibilities to help the citizens face and cope with this deadly pandemic.
“It wasted time and resources on bureaucratic half measures that has taken much needed resources from hospitals, patients, equipment and frontline workers,” Darboe said.
He said the recently announced decision of designating the Serrekunda Hospital as an exclusive Covid-19 treatment center risks jeopardising access to healthcare for the large number of patients that rely on this facility for the treatment of non-Covid-19 illnesses at a time when the already over stretched health facilities have difficulties coping with their existing patients loads. He added that the net result would be a denial of easy access to medical care for treatment of other illnesses.
“A better alternative would be to release to the Ministry of Health the big air conditioned tents that Yahya Jammeh purchased with our funds currently sitting on statehouse grounds and position them at some suitable locations, properly equipped to be used as a treatment center for Covid-19 patients,” he remarked.
He argued that the big air conditioned tents can accommodate a large number of patients and their caregivers with some augmentation of materials and other resources. He said this would allow the country’s limited health facilities to see a cross section of patients battling non Covid-19 serious illnesses as the identified Covid-19 cases are referred to the designated treatment centers.
The veteran lawyer cum politician said it is sad that during this pandemic far too many of the citizens especially the poor and the vulnerable have been left to wither in the vines without even the token food supplies purchased from Covid-19 funds reaching them – the deserving beneficiaries.
“We must all demand better of our government to uphold their primary duty to the citizens and step up by bringing in independent experts from the large pool of our talented citizens to manage and better organize our approach to this deadly disease,” he asserted.
The UDP Leader implored party supporters to help the experts to better manage the pandemic by doing voluntary Covid-19 test in order to determine their status.
“I have submitted myself to the test and thanks to Allah I have tested Negative. We should all do the same,” he urged party supporters.