On Monday, Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader, John Steenhuisen, submitted the Party’s inputs on the draft regulations of the risk-adjusted level 4 Covid-19 lockdown to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and Trade and Industry Minister, Ebrahim Patel.
The DA welcomed Government’s decision to ease the hard lockdown from level 5 to level 4, in accordance to the DA’s Smart Lockdown. We are however concerned that there has been no real evidence produced by Government on which the risk-adjusted strategy has been based.
This means that the decision to not open certain sectors of the economy have quite possibly not been based on research and fact, but rather on Government’s need to exert authority over South Africans.
We are of the view that there is a need for the economy to be opened across a much wider spectrum as Government’s draft regulations does not go far enough to prevent an economic meltdown post-lockdown.
The DA’s inputs on the draft regulations recognises the need for a lockdown to keep South Africans safe and healthy but also the socio-economic impact and the need to save livelihoods.
We believe that with sectoral agreed health protocols for each level, there is no reason why we cannot see a broader opening of the economy opposed to what has been put on the table by Government.
Here are some of the DA’s proposals on the draft risk-adjusted level 4 Covid-19 lockdown regulations:
- No curfew. There has been rationale reason presented for this.
- All shops allowed to open subject to mandatory health protocols, masks for all customers.
- E-commerce able to sell all goods to consumers online.
- Beauticians and hairdressers to be open subject to health protocols.
- Screening regime and workplace testing stations in the manufacturing sector.
- Transport of all goods allowed for export.
- Mask wearing on all public transport as well as sanitising on entry and exit.
- Car services allowed.
- Outdoor exercise and dog walking allowed.
- Alcohol sales allowed Mon-Fri until 3 pm. Limit on stock allowed to be bought.
- All agriculture allowed subject to health protocols.
- Mining activity to resume with the use of respirators, sanitised transport, and deep cleaning of residential units.
- Construction sites allowed to be open (similar to open-cast mining due to the open nature of the site).
- R1000 top-up for all grant receivers as opposed to caregivers only.
A full document on the DA’s inputs and comparison between National Government and the DA’s proposals can be accessed here.