The government should be held responsible for the second wave of COVID-19 in the country as it is the government’s inactiveness that has led to this situation, said SJB MP Nalin Bandara, moving the adjournment motion in Parliament, yesterday.
He said that the government had failed to control the situation, but adding insult to injury, there is major corruption and irregularities that is taking place amidst this crisis. “There are major anomalies in the tender process for the import of Rapid Antigen test kits. Today, the Drug Regulatory Authority is cast aside. Hence, the government must look into these irregularities in the import of these antigen test kits and punish those involved in this scam.”
There is no scientific basis for the quarantine curfews that is in place these days. The coronavirus pandemic began in March, and during the first six months of it, only 3,000 patients were reported.
“But why did the government fail in controlling the second wave? They removed Dr. Anil Jasinghe from the post of Health Services Director-General and appointed him to the Environment Ministry. Now, they have appointed a radiologist to the post of Health Services DG. This government does not make use of talented and capable people; they remove those who are capable and appoint incompetent persons instead. It is the same in Cabinet. They did not give Minister Dullas Alahapperuma the Education Ministry. They put him in charge of Power and Energy and appointed Minister Bandula the Trade Minister,” Bandara added.
The SJB MP noted that the Health Minister claims there is no communal spread of the coronavirus. He added that the theory cannot be accepted. “There is a national crisis in the country; all party leaders should unite to deal with it. Today, the health services have been sidelined and the military has been put in charge and given priority.”
He also accused the government of failing to ensure the safety of health workers, adding that they had not even been provided basic N95 masks for their protection. “The government is making money out of this situation and people are dying in their homes. Moreover, even the emergency call centre that was established by Dr. Anil Jasinghe is dysfunctional now. The government has failed to control the coronavirus, and it is the same plight for the other sectors as well.”
Commenting on the government’s decision to use drone technology for the monitoring of movement in isolated areas, Bandara said that although the police would use drones to investigate movements in areas where restrictions have been imposed, this project, too, has been handed over to a private staffer of a certain ministry. He said that the Opposition intends to reveal all such irregularities committed by the government.
