DA calls for parliamentary inquiry into govt’s Covid-19 vaccine plan

The party’s Siviwe Gwarube made the announcement on Tuesday at the party's media briefing with Shadow Minister of Finance Geordin Hill-Lewis.

Gwarube says Parliament should establish an ad hoc committee to look into the matter.

"We have written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thandi Modise, to request the establishment of this ad hoc committee in terms of Rule 253(1)(b) of the Rules of the National Assembly.

"We propose that this multiparty ad hoc committee should have broad terms of reference to allow for as comprehensive an inquiry as possible.

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"The DA proposes the establishment of a parliamentary ad hoc committee to conduct a full inquiry into the government’s handling of its Covid-19 vaccine programme in its entirety."

Since the beginning of the country's vaccination programme in March, approximately 1.7 million people have been vaccinated.

These include healthcare workers and persons over the age of 60 years old. 

Last week, the country was dealt yet another blow after the FDA recommended that the Johnson and Johnson vaccines manufactured at its Baltimore plant be destroyed after they were contaminated. 

At least 2 million of those will have be destroyed.

Half a million of them were set aside to inoculate the country's teachers  who are now seeing soaring Covid-19 cases in the classrooms.