A closer analogy would trying to hire someone "that knows what they are doing" (whatever that means) when you need the work done at 2am, in the midst of a crisis, on the side of road, while your house/car/genes are burning down.
This is really the problem here, the government was more interested in hiring its friends than it was in ensuring a competent response to the pandemic.
If you don't know how to implement this system, then perhaps you're in the wrong job.
How does a non technical person tell someone who knows what they're doing from someone who is good a looking like they know what they're doing?
I'd like to use your answer to justify my purchasing decisions when I need work done on my house/car/genes.