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By Siyabonga Mkhwanazi, Lou-Anne Daniels 
4h ago
Cape Town – The Democratic Alliance accused Finance Minister Tito Mboweni of misleading South Africans when he assured two weeks ago that the country would meet the deadline to pay the 500 million rand needed to join the Covax vaccine scheme.
Covax is a global mechanism for the joint procurement and equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. The first deadline for payment, which South Africa did not meet, was October 9.
Two weeks ago, Mboweni assured Parliament during the approval of the Budget that the second deadline to participate in Covax is December 15 and that the government would make the payment before that date.
However, that period also passed without payment being made, jeopardizing the country’s chances of obtaining the Covid-19 vaccine.
The country is currently experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections and already the number of new cases reported daily is increasing at an alarming rate. Experts have warned that this second wave will be worse than the initial outbreak.
DA finance spokesman Geordin Hill-Lewis said Thursday that Mboweni must explain to the country when the government will make the Covax payment and when it will provide the guarantees for the remainder of the amount owed.
“The opacity of the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Health, and indeed the President, must end now. South Africa needs a full explanation, with all the information on the table, and a clear plan and timeline for the implementation of Covax. Nothing less than full transparency will suffice, ”he said.
South Africa is part of a group of middle-income countries that were to receive the vaccine. Several wealthy countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, have already started implementing the vaccine.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his address to the nation on December 3 that the Solidarity Fund would make the payment to join Covax.
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