THEBE MABANGA
THE outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the virus have had a more devastating impact on business confidence than Financial Crisis of 2008/2009, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said on Wednesday as it called for urgent reforms.
SACCI reported that the Business Confidence Index (BCI), which measures the business sectors forward-looking sentiment in economic conditions, was almost unchanged in September at 85.7, down from 85.8 in August.
At the height of the lockdown, in April this year, the index fell 12.1 index points and fell a further 7.7 points in May.
It has since recovered by some 15 points up to August.
The BCI was still 6.7 index points below the September 2019 level and averaged 84.3 over the first nine months of 2020 compared to 92.6 for the comparative period in 2019.
“COVID-19 and
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