Complexities in Policy Implementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa

Abstract

Worldwide, countries were forced to redirect their resources, national efforts, and attention to alleviating the widespread of the coronavirus. Efforts such as national lockdowns, restrictions on certain goods and services, and the prohibition of public or social gatherings have been among the common measures that most governments have implemented in attempts to deal with this novel disease. Actions by the South African government have been no exception to these measures, and to some extent, the implementation of government actions to curb the spread of the coronavirus has been either politically, religiously, or even economically criticised. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic presents policy implementation with several challenges. This is largely because this was associated with a change in the way that government plans, acts, and responds to societal needs. It is for this reason that this study seeks to explore challenges in the implementation of responses aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The study adopts a qualitative secondary research approach. The research looks at policies in South Africa for dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic. Data is gathered from literature studies in scholarly publications, the internet and print media, government records, and survey findings from a variety of institutions. A descriptive qualitative analysis technique is adopted for the purposes of analysis. The current article adopts an integrated analytical framework to present and discuss the findings on policy implementation complexities during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The analytical framework is an integration of the 7-C protocols for policy implementation with the WHO’s guidelines for the government to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The findings of this study revealed that the government’s communication lacked an authoritative voice on the ground; despite the “family meetings” that President Ramaphosa used to address and update the general public on developments about COVID-19. In addition, the study found that the number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was limited, and to some extent, there has been no clear tool to evaluate their impact.