Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the huge spike in cases brought on by the third wave had forced his hand into moving the country into a Level 4 lockdown. The president announced that under the Level 4 guidelines restaurants would only be allowed to operate for take-away service while there is a total ban on alcohol sales. The restaurant and alcohol industries have both said they will not survive a prolonged lockdown.
Financial Mail Editor Rob Rose is scathing in his response to the Presidents’ address. Rose says Ramaphosa should have begun with an apology to the South African people for his government’s failure to adequately get a vaccination rollout plan in place that would have possibly prevented many of the deaths recorded last week.
While News24 editor, Adriaan Basson, was more positive with his comments saying the president’s requests were “reasonable” but may be too little too late as cases continue to rise. “There can be no doubt that almost 15 months since South Africa entered lockdown for the first time, Ramaphosa and his administration have adopted a much more sensible approach to balance healthcare, the education and the economy in these uncertain times.” (Subscribe to read)
And in his weekly letter to the nation, President Ramaphosa focused on state-owned enterprises (SOEs), describing them as mostly “associated, in the public eye, with state capture, financial mismanagement and inefficiency.” The president argued that while SOEs are riddled with many challenges and maladministration that needs to be overcome they are “responsible for providing the infrastructure and the services on which the economy depends, whether it be in the generation of electricity, commuter transport, water provision, freight logistics or telecommunications.”
Here’s a roundup of the latest opinions:
- Making the case for mandatory vaccination – Daily Maverick
- For the sake of our youth, and our future, teachers must get vaccinated – Daily Maverick
- Missing: 10 babies, 1 iPad, and my jab – Mail & Guardian
- Accountability and measurability vital to avoid greenwashing – Business Day
- Merc’s R10bn East London investment is about to come to fruition – Financial Mail
- How to pay less tax? Be mega rich – Financial Mail
- The voluntary codes that every sustainability-minded retirement fund should join – Fin24 (Subscribe to read)
