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{
    "id": 1032921,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1032921/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Endebess, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Robert Pukose",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1458,
        "legal_name": "Robert Pukose",
        "slug": "robert-pukose"
    },
    "content": " Thank you. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as the President was giving his Speech, the medical fraternity lost about 10 doctors in the frontline in the fight against COVID-19. That is a very big loss to our country. I also want to send my message of condolence to their families during this time. In the President’s Address, one of the key issues was COVID-19. These are difficult times. We have seen developed nations working very hard. We have Russia coming up with the Sputnik V vaccine and the United States of America (USA) with the Moderna vaccine, together with the Pfizer vaccine. These are milestones which are happening within those countries. Unfortunately, for us, what we have is ‘COVID-19 billionaires.’ The President having given a 21-day notice to the EACC, the DCI and the DPP, it is now more than 100 days down the line. We expected that when the President was going to give that Speech, at least, there could have been developments in the arrests and prosecutions of the ‘COVID-19 billionaires.’ When you look at the ravage the COVID-19 pandemic is causing, especially in the health sector, it is very difficult. As we speak today, many of our doctors are faced with challenges of inadequate PPEs, shortage of staff, et cetera . We have close to 2,000 medical doctors who have not been employed. They are outside in the streets looking for employment and yet, our Government has no strategy on how those doctors are going to be employed. It has no idea of how we are going to curb the spread of COVID-19. In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, I expected that, by now, we should be looking at the progress that has been made in arresting the situation. This is because, every day, what we hear is becoming a common occurrence. We are only giving statistics. Those statistics are in terms of people; they are not just figures. We are talking of people who are infected and those who die and yet, we are not looking at the things we are doing in the medical sector to make sure that our frontline healthcare workers are in a position to deliver good healthcare. When Members of this House addressed the issue about what has happened to one of our colleagues, what the newspapers picked was that Members were asking for helicopters and other things. We need to have an infrastructure within every county that can be able to, not only take care of the Members, but every citizen of this country whether in the rural areas or in towns. So, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}