Photo: PresidencyZA / Twitter
Photo: PresidencyZA / Twitter
President Ramaphosa will today chair the first meeting of the NEDLAC Forum for Economic Recovery. This forum is expected to bring together government, organised labour, business, and the community constituency to forge a common national plan to drive reconstruction and recovery – as Level 2 lockdown draws near.
What seemed an outside possibility at the beginning of the week has since snowballed into a very probable option. The rhetoric from the government has changed practically overnight, with a stronger focus on ‘economic revivals’ and an apparent shift towards prioritising livelihoods – even if Zweli Mkhize has warned against doing ‘too much, too soon’.
Level 2 latest – ‘crucial meetings’ held to discuss recovery
Crunch talks have already started: On Wednesday, the Presidential Economic Advisory Council emphasised the need for a focused and action-oriented programme with a few central priorities to lift the country out of its current crisis.
The Council supported the government’s emphasis on employment as the key priority for the country as it emerges from Coronavirus and called for all policy interventions to be directed towards protecting existing jobs – and creating new ones on a significant scale. This makes a move to Level 2 this week even more likely.
Mr Ramaphosa, What lockdown changes can we expect this week?
The President was accompanied by several Ministers from Cabinet’s economic cluster, who will use the contributions of the Council to strengthen the government’s plan. At this point, cards are being kept very close to chests when it comes to detailing our steps towards Level 2, but as we approach the weekend, it looks like Ramaphosa and his crew will present some huge changes to the current restrictions in place.
There’s even talk that both the alcohol and tobacco bans will be lifted in the next few days, as the pressure grows on Cabinet to allow businesses to resume full operations. A myriad of legal challenges and political opposition has backed prohibition measures into a corner, and they’re likely to fall sooner rather than later.
[Read] President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a virtual meeting with members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to discuss the country’s economic recovery in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic @PresidencyZA #COVID19 https://t.co/4DjxXo8obi pic.twitter.com/y6M4YMkzom
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) August 13, 2020
