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In his latest weekly letter to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa has focused on the economic “green shoots” emerging following harsh lockdowns earlier this year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While warning that any massive resurgence of infections would reverse the gains made so far, Ramaphosa said the government’s response is shifting “from relief to recovery.”
“As our focus now shifts to implementing the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, our priority will be to stimulate growth and create jobs.
“There has already been progress in several areas,” the president wrote.
The president also warned the public about a possible second wave of Covid-19, and asked citizens to observe the health guidelines that remain in effect under Blockade Level 1.
This comes after the minister in the presidency, Jackson Mthembu, confirmed last week that the president will address the nation this week on the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, following a cabinet meeting.
The Minister said that the Cabinet had expressed concern that some South Africans “behaved recklessly and irresponsibly as if Covid-19 no longer exists.”
This is due to the fact that several European countries have once again suffered severe blockades or are slowing down economic activity and freedom of movement to stop the resurgence of the virus.
“The utmost vigilance is required of all of us to keep the virus at bay. A resurgence on any scale will not only drastically reverse our gains in health, ”Ramaphosa said.
“It will smother the green shoots of economic recovery that have emerged and take us from spring to winter,” he said.
Read the full letter below:
Dear fellow South African,
Jacaranda trees are in full bloom in the country’s capital, heralding the start of summer. After a long and difficult winter, the beginning of a new season should fill us with optimism.
When the National State of Disaster was declared in March, our immediate priority was to contain the spread of the virus and provide emergency aid to citizens, communities, workers and businesses.
Over the course of eight months and with the support of our social partners, we implemented a comprehensive set of measures to limit the social and economic impact of the pandemic.
We massively expand social protection on a scale that has never been attempted before in this country.
We are one of the few countries in the world where the right of access to social security is enshrined in the Constitution, and we can be proud that during this serious crisis we gave practical expression to this right in many ways.
In addition to our existing social grants, which reach more than 17 million people each month, we complete grants for old age, disability and child support.
We launched a special Covid-19 social distress relief grant, which to date has reached about 6 million people. This was done a few weeks after the declaration of the National State of Disaster.
The scale of such an undertaking cannot be underestimated. To bring this system online there was extensive collaboration between the South African Social Security Agency, the South African Revenue Service, Internal Affairs and many others.
We established a fully automated application and disbursement process, and integrated multiple databases, including the National Population Registry and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) database.
We set up new application channels like WhatsApp and USSD, and we created systems with commercial banks to allow verification of bank details. This is a remarkable achievement in a very short time.
In addition to the steps we take to protect and maintain livelihoods, we also support businesses in difficulty. We provide small business relief in the form of debt relief, financing, tax deferrals, and other instruments.
We implemented a Covid-19 loan guarantee scheme to allow companies to cover their operating expenses during closing, and we are currently analyzing how this scheme can reach more companies in need.
We provide income protection to workers and relief to business owners through the Temporary Employer Assistance Plan (Ters) administered by the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
All of these were in direct response to an emergency and were by nature temporary. Some are coming to an end, while others have expanded as the job market recovers.
The measures we implemented contributed greatly to protecting our society from the strong winds of Covid-19. The additional grants helped prevent millions of people from falling below the food poverty line.
If we had not intervened to secure livelihoods and save businesses, the living conditions of our people and the circumstances of thousands of businesses would have been considerably worse.
We are now in a transition from relief to recovery.
The emergency measures we implement have laid a firm foundation on which to rebuild our economy. As our focus now shifts to the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, our priority will be to stimulate growth and create jobs.
Progress has already been made in several areas.
We are seeing new funding commitments for infrastructure development following a roundtable on infrastructure projects last week.
Various employment programs have been launched under the presidential employment stimulus. We are continuing with economic reforms in areas such as energy and telecommunications.
Plans are being turned into action and commitments are being reflected in jobs and opportunities.
It’s even more critical right now, even more so as the holiday season approaches, that we are not the architects of our own undoing.
The utmost vigilance is required of all of us to keep the virus at bay.
A resurgence on any scale will not only drastically reverse our health gains. It will choke out the green shoots of economic recovery that have emerged and carry us from spring to winter.
To prevent a second wave of Covid-19 infections, we must adhere to the public health guidelines that remain in effect.
When we don’t wear a mask to a social gathering, when we attend crowded events, we don’t just put ourselves and others at risk. We are also jeopardizing our economic recovery.
Let’s all continue to play our role.
The positive actions of wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, and washing our hands regularly helped us overcome the worst effects of the pandemic. They are still our best defense.
Let’s remember the sacrifices we all had to make to contain the spread of the virus in the early days.
Even when most of the social and economic activity has resumed, we still need to observe all health measures. This is absolutely necessary if we want to rebuild our economy and leave this crisis behind.
With the best wishes,
Cyril Ramphosa
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