Government recently ran an advert in which the Presidential COVID-19 Task Force in collaboration with De Beers Group will be awarding six frontline workers with the Forevermark branded jewellery of a total value of one carat. Mascom has also vowed to award 100 frontline workers with P100,000 worth of devices and data.
However, these inadvertent incentives did not sit well with other frontliners who felt upset the competition would not be fair on all frontline workers that perform their roles in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, having to go without recognition. Shingirai Muzondiwa, president of the Botswana Doctors Union (BDU), expressed his disappointment over the campaign noting that all frontliners, including doctors, have gone to extremes in the fight against the pandemic with some even losing their lives. “Honestly, this is an insult to doctors, nurses, cleaners, gardeners amongst all who work in hospitals. Whoever doesn’t get chosen will feel unappreciated despite all the sacrifice we make daily putting our lives in danger. Unfortunately, we have also lost some frontliners who got in contact with patients who were infected,” he said. “Why do you want to divide frontline workers to start with? We are gambling with ourselves and all of a sudden someone says they are going to choose to whom they want to reward.
