Johannesburg - The EFF has challenged President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to disclose the details of pledges and donations that have been made by the private sector in efforts to combat the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
They have also called on the government to indicate what the pledges and the donations were for, and how they would be used to combat the spread of the virus.
While announcing the 21-day lockdown, Ramaphosa announced that the Rupert and Oppenheimer families had donated R1 billion each to help small business weather the impact of the virus.
In a statement, the EFF said that money given by the Ruperts was instead a form of exploitative loans disguised as donations towards Covid-19.
Other major business figures also followed suit by donating large sums of money, such as the Motsepe Foundation and its associated companies which last week also pledged R1 billion towards fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
During his address to the nation on Monday, Ramaphosa again announced yet another donation from corporate South Africa. This time he announced that technology and media giant Naspers had committed R1.5 billion to fight the coronavirus in South Africa.
In light of the numerous donations and pledges made towards the fight against the virus, the EFF said that it was disgusted by the opportunism of South African capitalists and captains of industry and “their attempts to profit from the global Covid-19 pandemic”.
“We call on government to disclose the exact details of all the pledges and donations made by the private sector, including what they are for and how they are going to be used to combat the rapid spread of the coronavirus and the economic devastation of our people,” said EFF spokesperson Vuyani Pambo.
Political Bureau
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