Circumstances compel Ramaphosa to relax restrictions

15 August 2020

It was not good leadership, but circumstances, that compelled President Cyril Ramaphosa to relax the draconian Covid-19 lockdown regulations significantly.

Not only did ANC members throughout the party's structures exploit the lockdown to loot emergency funds, but the warnings from economic circles that the country's economy had reached a turning point also became louder and more urgent. 

It is also evident that the numerous law suits that had been filed against the government, including the FF Plus's court application, had increased the pressure on the government to such an extent that it was forced to make certain concessions.

The move to a lower alert level is welcomed, but it is too little too late. The damage that the economy sustained is extensive and the FF Plus does not see how it will recover under ANC rule, particularly in light of the fact that the economy had already deteriorated to junk status before the pandemic.

Over the last few months, the fiscus lost billions of rand which will ultimately be collected from tax payers. Millions of job opportunities have been lost in a labour environment which already had a critically high level of unemployment before the lockdown.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the government is actually being controlled by Cosatu from the outside and on the inside, by certain individuals in its Cabinet, such as Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Cosatu recently stated that the ban on alcohol and tobacco products must be lifted because it is doing great damage to the economy and is resulting in more unemployment. The FF Plus has been saying this for a long time already.

In reality, Cosatu is only concerned about its own pocket. As unemployment increases, its members and, thus, its income decrease and that is the real reason for its concern, not the economy as such.

The FF Plus welcomes the President's emphasis on health protocols. The party has held and voiced the opinion that all economic activities should resume with the necessary health protocols in place for quite some time now.

The President would do well to take note of the fact that 53% of the public sector, including public enterprises, municipalities and departments, do not comply with the current health and safety requirements.

This has long since been a problem that should have been addressed instead of focusing on policing trivialities, like people walking on beaches.

Not only does this jeopardise service delivery, but it also poses a health risk to the general public.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 15 August 2020