OPINION - Sanjay Singh letter’s accusing the leader of the official opposition, John Steenhuisen, of “playing politics” by calling for the economy to be lifted instead of “working with the government” is a mixture of nonsense and ignorance.
The DA, through Steenhuisen, has been proactive in providing alternative solutions to the government as he did with the proposal of a smart lockdown to save both lives and livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic.
No opposition leader has fulfilled their political responsibilities during this lockdown as effectively as the leader of the official opposition has.
It was through the persistent efforts of the DA in fighting the senseless regulation restricting e-commerce operations that pressurized the government to review that regulation.
It is the DA, not any other party, that is using both Parliament and the courts to fight the unjustifiable regulations on relief funding based on racial classifications, restrictions on exercise times and the curfew.
Singh’s falls into the binary trap that somehow advocating for the economy to be reopened devalues human lives.
The hard reality is that the lockdown has precipitated an economic and social disaster, destroying livelihoods of many South Africans.
According to the National Treasury projections, approximately 3 - 7 million more South Africans are likely to lose their jobs due to the prolonged lockdown.
Over the weekend there were reports of child malnutrition at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital as more families are increasingly unable to feed their children as a direct consequence of closed economic activities.
The purpose of the lockdown was understandably to sufficiently prepare our public health system to system to mitigate the damage of the pandemic. Now is the time to reopen to economy to save lives.
Solly Malatsi is the DA National Spokesperson