![]() ![]() Its curfews and restrictions on work and on trade are now destroying the economy without having a compensatory impact on reducing the virus’ spread, according to Mr. ![]() Arguing that the lockdown-which he had supported-was aimed not to prevent the spread of Covid-19 but to give the health services a window to prepare for it, he proposed that it is now doing more harm than good. On May 8, John Steenhuisen, senior member of parliament for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, added his voice to the call for an end to the lockdown in its present form. In addition, many people in the casually employed sector, including persons in domestic service, have also lost their jobs.Ī senior opposition leader said that the lockdown-aimed not to prevent the spread of Covid-19 but to give the health services a window to prepare for it-was now doing more harm than good. Under the lockdown, clothing retail shops have been deemed “non-essential” and so remain closed. And Edcon Holdings, a clothing retail conglomerate that was already faltering before the lockdown, is set to close unless it too goes into business rescue. ![]() This is due to the knock-on effect of the dramatic rise in unemployment as businesses large and small issue layoffs or creep closer to bankruptcy.Īmong the bigger businesses, virtually every South African domestic airline is filing for a business rescue. On the economic front, a recent report suggests that 34 percent of South Africans have gone to bed hungry during the lockdown. The reasons for this boil down to two key factors: widespread economic hardship and growing public impatience with what is perceived as authoritarian high-handedness in preserving the lockdown. As South Africa moves into its second week of “ Stage 4 Covid-19 Lockdown” (the previous weeks having been retroactively designated “Stage 5”), there are growing signs of discontent and calls in some circles to end the lockdown altogether in its present form or at least to move faster to less restrictive stages. ![]()
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