Covid-19 Business Watch: Lockdown let down

It’s day 221 of one of the worlds’ longest running and arguably most economically damaging lockdowns. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation this week amid suggestions that the government could reinstate stricter measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. In SA the 7-day average has dropped to 1565/day, down 9% week on week. Meanwhile Australia has just recorded its first day without a locally acquired covid case since June. Deaths so far from covid remain well below the several times downwardly revised lower bound of expected fatalities at under 20,000 in South Africa while the economy has sustained severe structural damage in employment, in a deep erosion of the tax base, and a National Command Council seemingly drunk on power, withdrawing the TERS UIF benefit unilaterally, suggest, ominously, that government remains as detached as ever to the reality on the ground of so many South Africans. Michael Avery is joined by Professor Alex van den Heever, chair in the field of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies at the Wit's School of Governance; Nick Hudson, CEO of SANA Partners and part time coordinator of Panda; and Mike Schussler, head of econmists.co.za; to talk about what we have learned so far about lockdowns that should be guiding our decision making as we chart a course ahead.