By Editorial
Predictions are that the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa is set to peak between now and September.
While the government has found systematic ways to try and flatten the curve through health-care systems, the focus has now shifted to the country’s ailing economy.
On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa held a virtual meeting with members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to discuss economic recovery in the wake of Covid-19.
On Thursday he chaired the first meeting of the Nedlac Forum for Economic Recovery.
The forum has seen government, organised labour, business and community constituencies banding together to discuss a common national plan to drive reconstruction and recovery, with Ramaphosa conceding that “the devastation caused by the coronavirus means that we cannot continue in the same manner as before”.
His words align with many sentiments shared by the global community.
The World Bank recently highlighted that emerging markets and developing countries had to, amid the pandemic, strengthen public health systems and implement reforms to support strong and sustainable growth, while some reports have maintained that the world’s economy post-Covid-19 will see a greater focus on resilience and sustainability.
Ramaphosa is now, more than ever, under immense pressure to do what is right for the country’s economy.
Some have maintained that the only right thing for him to do now is to open up large parts of the economy despite being in the midst of an increasing number of infections and deaths.
The president’s imminent announcement of the country moving to level 2 of the lockdown has many implications.
It has implications for the livelihoods of the many who have lost their jobs. It has significance for the thousands of companies that have had to shut their doors or are struggling to keep their heads above water.
The country moving to level 2 should not be seen as a chance for many of us to go back to our normal lives, which include travelling, partying or living with reckless abandon.
As Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said: “The easing of restrictions depends on people wearing masks, avoiding large gatherings and maintaining hand hygiene.”
Therefore, the country’s road to economic recovery does not only rest on the government, but on every one of us.
The Star