Editorial: Cabinet must act urgently

As we begin the fourth week of lockdown, it is disappointing that, for all its great work in trying to bring the Covid-19 coronavirus under control, the government still does not have an economic plan to cater for a hungry and restive population.

The state has been widely hailed for its proactive and constructive strategies to ensure that we are not overwhelmed by this virus.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has shown himself to be an astute and wise leader who has allowed experts to inform his response strategy.

And South Africans have, on the whole, done their bit to abide by new regulations and shown patience.

Many small, medium and big businesses have made a huge sacrifice by closing shop until the government is satisfied it has matters under control.

But the pain is felt more by scores of now unemployed people and those who make a living informally, who now have to stay at home.

There are signs of restlessness everywhere. The long queues of people in Alexandra this week for food parcels that did not arrive are a testimony to the needs out there.

The looting of stores, despite the large deployment of police and the army, tell a story of increasing hunger and desperation.

It was particularly disheartening to hear on Thursday that the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday had failed to finalise a socioeconomic recovery plan.

Cabinet confirmed it had a discussion on a socioeconomic recovery plan post-Covid-19.

It received inputs from different government clusters, but resolved that further discussions were required before a consolidated plan was shared with the nation.

All clusters were asked to produce one consolidated document for a Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

Our economy was in the doldrums before the pandemic hit us.

After showing patience when other credit ratings agencies downgraded South Africa last year, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded us to “junk” status.

This followed a technical recession after two terms of no growth.

So, while the rest of the world faces similar challenges, our woes were worsened by our already dire situation.

With the unwelcome label of the world’s most unequal society, massive youth unemployment and a shrinking revenue base, we are a ticking time bomb.

Our Cabinet cannot afford to waste a moment. It must take a decision on the future of SAA.

After years of pumping money into the bottomless hole of the national carrier, the government finally said no this week when the liquidators came begging for more.

SAA needs to be disposed of, but the ANC mandarins have held on to some amorphous concept of national pride.

That time is past. We either make plans to look after the poor and impoverished, or we hold on to our national pride. 

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