After 108 days of lockdown and hundreds of billions of rand, South Africa is still not ready for the peak of Covid-19

13 July 2020

After 108 days of some of the most stringent Covid-19 lockdown regulations and hundreds of billions of rand earmarked for the fight against the pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa had to admit that his government has failed to combat the virus successfully and that the country has to return to having stricter regulations imposed.

The return to an absolute ban on alcohol and a renewed curfew serve as proof that the government is groping around in the dark to try and find solutions and that it will continue on its path of destruction of imposing irrational restrictions jeopardising the country's economic survival.

It has also become clear that different measures seemingly apply to the different sectors. The taxi industry, for example, is allowed to function at full capacity although the spread of the virus is nearing its peak, while the restaurant industry, which is greatly dependent on the sale of alcohol to stay in business, has been delivered another severe blow.

These past few weeks, the sale of alcohol was allowed without a curfew and that raises the question of why these two restrictions are now being re-implemented simultaneously.

For more than three long months, South Africans have made enormous sacrifices to afford the government the opportunity to prepare the health care system for the peak of the virus – but it has now become clear that the government is unable to do so.

The reason for this is twofold: The country's health care system was already in a terrible state even before Covid-19 and after the outbreak, the preparation period was characterised by a wave of corruption and fraud while draconian and irrational regulations further hampered the health care system's ability to prepare.

The President himself admitted that the government failed to enforce the existing and most basic protocols, like wearing masks, but it was widely reported that great effort was made to enforce senseless regulations, like arresting people on beaches.

After 26 years in power, the ANC government has only succeeded in proving that it is incompetent and unable to govern. The country's economy has been destroyed, municipalities are dysfunctional and state enterprises are bankrupt.

It, therefore, comes as no surprise that the government has also failed in its attempt to combat Covid-19.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 13 June 2020