COSATU statement on the President’s decision to impose a 21-day lockdown to combat Covid-19
24 March 2020
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted the decision by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to put the country on a twenty-one (21) day national lockdown, as a way of combatting the Covid-19 epidemic. We welcome this intervention by the President and we urge all citizens to cooperate and play their role to make the fight against this deadly epidemic a success.
The outbreak of Covid-19 epidemic has reminded us of the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of our health system. Looking at how better resourced nations around the world are struggling with this epidemic, this decision was inevitable in this country, especially with the rise in the numbers of infected people.
This national lockdown though will test our already ailing economy and push it to the brink and if bold measures are not taken speedily, we likely face a full-scale economic depression with unprecedented job losses. We welcome the economic interventions announced by the president so far to cushion the workers and vulnerable businesses, but they are obviously not enough.
The survivalist rural and township economy cannot be left to the charitable donations and the benevolence of the well-off. Informal businesses need the government to be hands-on in assisting them. More than 60% of South Africans depend on the survivalist informal economy and this shutdown will hit them hard.