Western Cape lashed for focusing on economy instead of halting Covid-19 resurgence

Cape Town - The DA run provincial government has come under fire for its overemphasis on opening up the economy instead of asking for stricter lockdown regulations to stem the increase in coronavirus infections leading to a full-blown second wave.

Good Party secretary-general Brett Herron said: “The premier, his Western Cape government and DA must take responsibility for the ambivalence and lack of compliance in this province.

“They spent the entire Covid-19 period challenging and undermining the national lockdown measures. There is a consequence for sowing doubt and defiance and we are now all reaping the results of their poor judgement and worst leadership,” said Herron.

ANC MPL and leader of the opposition, Cameron Dugmore, said the possibility of going back to level 5 should not be excluded.

“However such a decision would require serious consideration of the economic impact on jobs and livelihoods. For now our best bet is for all of us to behave responsibly 24/7. Specific measures to curtail gatherings and social events are unavoidable,” said Dugmore.

The DA-controlled City and province are advocating for self-regulation and enforcement of the existing lockdown level 1 curbs. Premier Winde said: “We know that lockdown was absolutely devastating to our system, specifically the poorest of the poor. During that initial lockdown we know we lost about 21 000 jobs and we are probably looking at the loss of another 150 000 jobs by the end of this year and everything we do is about trying to find a balance.”

With regard to which was more important, saving lives or saving jobs, Winde said: “It’s not about one or the other. We can’t only focus on the health system or only focus on the economy. We’ve got to find the balance between the two.”

Speaking during Winde’s regular digicon yesterday, provincial head of health Dr Keith Cloete said: “The biggest concern is the non-adherence to protective behaviours. There is a big need for targeted enforcement and behaviour change interventions.

“Over the month of November, Covid-19 admissions have increased by 409% and continue to increase as we continue with the resurgence. In the same context, trauma admissions have increased with each relaxation of alcohol regulation. The relaxation of retail sales and extension of night time curfew, in particular, saw a 36.2% increase in trauma admissions.”

Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said: “The key message is we must aggressively self-regulate now. Your actions have consequences for many others and those consequences include unemployment and job losses. It isn’t an either/or, businesses can be open and we can behave responsibly.”

Political scientist Ntsikelelo Breakfast said it was not easy to get people to comply. “If you are going to get people to stick to the rules and regulations you are going to have to have boots on the ground with police and law enforcement visible … It sounds easy, but remember we do not have enough police, though visibility will help.”

Economist Dawie Roodt said: “I think it’s far more important to keep the economy as open as possible than to impose some sort of further restrictions for the simple reason that locking down the economy will increase poverty…”

Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) chief economist Chifipa Mhango said: “While protecting people’s lives is crucial, a well-managed approach that is less disruptive to economic activity would be appropriate as we simply cannot shut down industries again.”

Managing partner at Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs Africa Philani Sangweni said: “While it’s important we do everything we can to keep the economy open through the second wave … it’s also important to help businesses innovate. The province should look at what it’s doing right and help others do the same.”

Cape Argus

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 07:31:38 GMTMwangi Githahu

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