Analyst says unity is needed to fight covid-19
Written by Lethiwe Mdluli on 9 April, 2020
Political economist, Jabulani Khanyile, says if communities work with government to curb the spread of coronavirus the country will recover economically.
Moody’s Ratings Agency downgraded South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to sub-investment grade from Baa3 to junk status.
The downgrade means that South African government bonds would ordinarily be removed from the World Government Bond Index.
Khanyile says the country needs to unite urgently to fight covid-19.
“We will recover if we can agree to swallow our pride and speak one language. One thing that has to happen is for all political parties in the country to agree on the way forward to fight the coronavirus. If all political parties agree on how to reach a road to recovery and on how to revive the economy, the country can bounce back.”
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Meanwhile the Department of Tourism has encouraged businesses to apply for aid from the Covid-19 Tourism Relief Fund before the application period ends on the 30th of next month.
The R200 million relief fund will provide a once-off capped grant assistance.
Tourism minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, says government acknowledges the difficulties experienced by businesses in the tourism sector because of the coronavirus.
“I know a lot of people are saying that the money might not be enough. We do aknowledge that its not sufficient to cover everybody but we hope that this is a signal that shows that as government we do care and we want to see our SMME’s surviving beyond COVID-19. We will continue to announce measures that we put in place as the department of tourism.”
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By: Lindelani Mbatha & Bright Ntuli
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