People in some countries could revolt if they perceive the actions the government is taking to mitigate the hardships of the pandemic as insufficient or favoring the wealthy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Wednesday.
The viral infection has resulted in governments imposing lockdowns to curb the spread, an action that has strained global commerce. Nearly $8 trillion have been spent by governments to combat the pandemic and mitigate the economic fallout, but more fiscal stimulus would be needed once the crisis abated, according to Reuters.
Now the global monetary agency warns that COVID-19 induced shutdowns, one of the measures by the government could trigger civil disobedience.
“This is something we have emphasized: it is crucial to provide support to households and firms that are made vulnerable by the crisis. The goal is to support and protect people and firms that have been affected by shutdowns,” Vitor Gaspar director of fiscal affairs at the IMF told Reuters.
Mr. Gaspar said policymakers needed to communicate with groups most affected by the control effort “to build support for measures to tackle the virus.”
In Nigeria, the government had declared a lockdown of three states – Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun – to slow the spread of the disease. President Buhari noted in his address to the nation that those who depend on daily wages or the informal sector which constitute about 65% of the national economy would be the most affected by the lockdown.
The lockdown in the country has led to a spike in robbery cases in Lagos and Ogun States. There are reports that violent crimes occur both in the day and at night, prompting residents to form vigilante groups to protect their properties.
President Buhari’s decision to extend the lockdown by two weeks has made many to complain that hunger could kill them before COVID-19 does and sparked the ‘pay us via BVN’ hashtag on social media. The bank verification number (BVN) is unique to every bank account holder.
Gita Gopinath, IMF chief Economist said unlike previous crises and disasters that fostered solidarity, this could be a different outcome, according to Reuters.
“If the crisis is badly managed and it’s viewed as having been insufficient to help people, you could end up with social unrest,” Gopinath said.
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