The country is waking up to schools reopening and alcohol sales unbanned as President Cyril Ramaphosa last night eased lockdown restrictions to Alert Level 3 amid battles on two fronts: the devastating effects of the deadly coronavirus and the recent chaos and violence that destabilised the country.
The containment of the spread of the virus and limiting its impact on the economy remain the top priority. Other priorities are accelerating vaccinations, ensuring peace and stability, providing relief and support for the poor, helping businesses to rebuild, and propping up the economy to restore jobs and driving inclusive growth.
Among the relief measures for businesses hit by Level 4 lockdown and the violence that wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, are:
- Insured businesses will be covered by state-owned insurance company Sasria. Sasria may also compensate some formal and informal SMMEs that may not have been insured but were victims of the violence.
- Funding for SMMEs affected by the pandemic will be reprioritised through a once-off business survival funding mechanism.
- The Employment Tax Incentive has been extended for four months to include any employee earning below R6,500 and to increase the incentive amount by up to R750 per month.
- Payment of PAYE taxes has been deferred for three months to provide businesses with additional cash flow, with an automatic deferral of 35% of PAYE liabilities for employers with revenue below R100m.
- The payment of excise taxes by the alcohol sector will be deferred for a period of three months, to ease the burden on the sector as it recovers.
On the vaccination front, Ramaphosa said the country is now administering 240,000 vaccines a day, resulting in more than 6.3 million vaccines so far. People over the age of 18 will be able to get the jab from September 1. South Africa is currently ranked 11th in the world in terms of vaccines administered per 100,000 of the population, excluding the Sisonke trial, in which 479,768 health workers received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In another exciting development in the fight against Covid, drugmakers are now looking for a pill that those testing positive could take at home.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
- Stellenbosch University Law Clinic in historic consumer law class action against a web of ‘loan providers’ – Daily Maverick
- How South Africa’s five biggest banks continue to dominate – BusinessTech
- Inequalities in property ownership under the spotlight – SA News
Global Business
- When getting vaccinated could mean winning a $1.4 million apartment – Bloomberg
- Tobacco firm Philip Morris calls for ban on cigarettes within decade – The Guardian
- Lessons from a billionaire CEO who can’t focus on anything for more than 4 hours – Entrepreneur’s Handbook
Markets
- Asian stocks down as focus turns to China tech crackdown and US-China talks –Investing.com
Bitcoin surges amid short covering, speculation over Amazon plan – Bloomberg
Asian stocks side-lined as funds flock to Wall Street – Reuters
In-depth
- Anatomy of a ‘rigged’ contract: Digital Vibes tender deeply flawed, unlawful and invalid, says SIU – Daily Maverick
Bitcoin’s place in the financial worlds – The European Business Review
Meet the instigators: The Twitter accounts of the RET forces network that incited violence and demanded Zuma’s release – Daily Maverick
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