Charles Molele
President Cyril Ramaphosa met with the National Economic Development and Labour Council on Friday to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the South African economy.
According to presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko, NEDLAC’s special executive committee meeting with Ramaphosa specifically focused on how to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic, including the resultant lockdown.
Diko said the participants agreed with the president that the pandemic was a health, economic and social crisis of unprecedented scale with far-reaching implications for the South African economy.
The meeting also agreed that the health and well-being of all South Africans must be the overriding concern of all sections of society, and that it was therefore necessary to intensify the public health response to the pandemic.
“Priority should be given to measures to contain the spread of the virus and to minimise loss of life. The social partners also agreed that South Africa’s economy and society will be fundamentally changed once the epidemic has been eradicated, and that it is imperative that South African citizens and businesses be protected from its adverse impact,” said Diko.
The social partners of NEDLAC were unanimous that they needed to lend their full support to proposed economic recovery measures and social support to society’s most vulnerable during the lockdown.
Ramaphosa said: “In bracing ourselves for the worst economic fallout, South Africa is not alone. By most predictions there will be a global economic slowdown this year, and it is inevitable that emerging markets and developing country economies will be negatively impacted.”
Ramaphosa added that there was a need for business and labour to deepen cooperation to ensure social protection for workers during the lockdown.
At the meeting, NEDLAC partners expressed their appreciation of government’s position that lifting the nationwide lockdown too abruptly could result in dire consequences.
They agreed that a risk-adjusted approach was necessary in determining the country’s response.
The country entered a nationwide lockdown for 21-days with effect from midnight on Thursday March 26 and on April 9, Ramaphosa announced that the National Coronavirus Command Council had decided to extend the lockdown by a further two weeks until the end of April.
