What I wish for in 2022

TWO years ago today, the world was looking like a great place to live with bright prospects. No one would have imagined that a virus would suddenly turn the whole globe topsy-turvy.   

Two years later, Covid has become the greatest evil of our time, changing every sphere of our lives and how we live.

We have become strangers in our own world, walking about with hidden smiles and muffled voices. But even in this hugless world, we must keep our hopes alive that 2022 will be different; and it can only be different when it resembles the kind of world we had before December 2019.

Yes, we had bombs falling on Syria and the murderous IS running over villages and towns, but all that now pales in the wake of COVID-19.

We must all hope for an end to this.   

Although I shudder to imagine that whoever or whatever is behind the pandemic would want to walk us through the entire Greek alphabet – alpha to omega – 24 characters in all. And to think that we have only dealt with alpha, delta and omicron so far is a frightening prospect.

Of course the Omicron variant has proved less deadly than the Delta variant, but who knows what beta, lambda or kappa will bring? God forbid that they come!

Two days ago, I visited a clinic in Chamba Valley to get a swab and I found myself sitting behind about 30 people all anxiously waiting to be tested for Covid. The nurses were clearly overwhelmed by the numbers.

We cannot depress our health care system any further; it is already at breaking point.

One of the clinical staff told me later that the clinic was registering about 20 positive cases daily.

The only consoling thing is that most of those testing positive were exhibiting mild symptoms and were sent back home for home treatment. But can you now imagine how many infected people are in your community?

At the beginning of the fourth wave, positivity rate was about 2.5 percent. It has soared to nearly 30 percent in just about a month.

Covid is everywhere – in your workplace, public transport, church or funeral gathering or indeed end-of-year party! The community penetration of Omicron should make all of us cautious about how we live, being responsible not only for ourselves but for those around us as well.

For a collective disease like Covid, collective action is of utmost importance; we can only live together or perish together.

I know that vaccination still remains a personal choice, but what if it is the only choice?

Like I was told at the clinic I visited, the symptoms are less severe in the vaccinated population.

So why will you continue standing on the fence of unproven theories? Or do you still have a fool’s cap on and believe that the whole corona thing is a myth? It is time to awaken to reality.

And so, obviously, my greatest wish for 2022 is for a world free of COVID-19. Have we not seen enough pain and sorrow the past two years? Have we not lost enough loved ones?

As regards the fight against corruption, I only have one wish – to see a real fight against the vice.

So far what we have been treated to looks more like a bad rehearsal by the agencies mandated to fight corruption.

My wish is that those who stole public resources will no longer walk our streets, enjoying their loot, but will be confined to prison where they belong. 2022 will be better with them locked away.

On the political front, I wish to see a stronger opposition that will help the new dawn government move the country forward. Our democracy was under threat under the authoritarian rule of the PF and Edgar Lungu, but a moribund opposition will kill democracy just as well.

After licking their wounds sustained in the August elections, the political parties must now dust themselves and become relevant to society.

Economically, I wish that 2022 will be less tough for majority citizens – baseless as that wish may be. Obviously with increased fuel prices, and an impending increase in electricity tariffs, 2022 will be longer than 365 days.

The message we are getting from Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane is doom-laden; that it will get darker before dawn breaks. We can only pray that the night won’t be too long for some.

But no matter what, we must keep the tradition and spirit of the festive season by wishing each other a happy 2022. Happy new year!

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