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Business for SA (B4SA) has stated that quickly moving South Africa to a level 2 blockade will save more than a million jobs, while allowing people to stay safe and follow COVID-19 health protocols.
A report from the Sunday Times In the B4SA statement, he said the group is in constant talks with the government to allow people to return to work.
The group further stated that companies and employees can take responsibility for “implementing strict health and safety controls” upon returning to their workplaces.
The current blocking approach, which has been at level 5 and level 4, “is economically impractical and difficult to regulate,” he said.
“This could have serious socioeconomic and health consequences,” the report stated.
Below level 4, many companies cannot open. As a result, employees are sitting at home without pay, waiting for UIF contributions to help them pay the bills.
The situation is so dire, in fact, that the South African National Treasury predicted more than 7 million jobs it could be lost as a result of virus and crash.
South Africa’s economy could contract as much as 16.1% this year, according to estimates.
Looking at specific sectors, the magazine industry in South Africa has been hit hard
Caxton recently announced that it would withdraw from the publication of magazines and associated businesses, while Associated Media Publishing He said it closed its doors on May 1.
Caxton Magazines publishes 12 featured magazines: Bona, Country Life, Essentials, Food & Home, Garden & Home, People, Rooi Rose, Vrouekeur, Woman & Home, and Your Family.
AMP published Cosmopolitan, House & Leisure, Good Housekeeping, and Women on Wheels.
Open the economy
Therefore, B4SA has called for an acceleration of the risk-adjusted COVID-19 strategy.
This “would allow for a successful return to work while saving lives and livelihoods,” he added, providing the following scenarios:
- If level 4 continued for a month, the economy would contract 14.5% in 2020.
- Moving quickly to level 2 will reduce the contraction to 10% and save over a million jobs.
97% of the workforce could work below level 2, he added.
The call to allow more companies to operate has been echoed by CEOs in the country, including those in the e-commerce industry.
Takealot CEO Kim Reid, who said social distancing is built into e-commerce, wants online stores to be able to sell their entire inventories.
“With a few simple delivery protocols, e-commerce enables a very hygienic way to shop,” said Reid.
Currently, there are still restrictions on what people can buy online, with the same limits set as for physical retailers.
Now Read: Many Locking Regulations Do More Harm Than Good – Experts
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