Ramaphosa: ‘COVID-19 gives us an opportunity for a new beginning’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that the COVID-19 outbreak, and subsequent lockdown, has provided South Africa with the perfect opportunity for a new economic beginning.

Ramaphosa, during his visit to KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, addressed the media on the province’s response to the pandemic, lauding Premier Sihle Zikalala for local government’s proactive medical and economic initiatives.

Prior to visiting Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme Provincial Hospital in KwaMashu, north of Durban, the president focused his attention on the dire economic consequences of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Echoing concerns raised by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and the Director General of the National Treasury, Dondo Mogajane, who noted that the country’s unemployment rate could soar to 40%, Ramaphosa spoke at length about post-lockdown economic reforms.

The president’s new vision for South Africa

Acknowledging the devastating economic impact of the lockdown, Ramaphosa reiterated the need for corporate innovation and government collaboration. The president said:

“We’ve got to put in place the pillars of a new economy. We cannot continue in the same old way.

We need to be asking ourselves; what is this new vision for our country going forward?”

Building on Mboweni’s earlier address before parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance, Ramaphosa added that state resources, and their allocations, would need to be monitored even more carefully in light of lockdown’s fierce financial impact.

Ramaphosa supports Radical Economic Transformation

Ramaphosa added that South Africa’s financial future would be underpinned by the ideology of Radical Economic Transformation (RET) — a philosophy championed by former President Jacob Zuma and his allies which played a leading role in the factional battles within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) — prioritising women, youth and black South Africans. Ramaphosa said:

“The building blocks are already in place, we now need to put them all together. The important principles is that it must be an economic future that is going to ensure that the growth that we will have is inclusive, it must also be empowering to women, to young people and to black people in the main.

Radical Economic Transformation will underpin the economic future we will have to craft going forward.”

In this regard, Ramaphosa noted that the coronavirus’ devastating impact would hold a silver lining by offering a window of opportunity to further the RET agenda and leverage new sectors.

The president added that this ‘new way’ would only be achieved by cooperation between all stakeholders, including government, labour and community-based organisations. In the call for a capable, ethical, developmental and innovative state, Ramaphosa noted:

“In a way, COVID-19 gives us a way for a new beginning, a new beginning which is going to make us have a new way of doing things; new sectors of our economy [and] new ways of functioning.”