04 Dec BSA – Daily Update 04 December 20

B4SA SUPPORTS INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE PANDEMIC RESURGENCE  

Business for South Africa (B4SA) concurs with President Cyril Ramaphosa that anti-COVID-19 behaviour change interventions must be implemented urgently to reduce the resurgence of COVID-19 infections. 

The President has announced that localised restrictions will be implemented in COVID-19 hotspots, starting with the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Metro, from 4 December 2020. Certain identified hotspots, all in the Eastern Cape, are being monitored while all other regions in South Africa continue to operate under level 1 regulation.  B4SA acknowledges the possibility that the measures taken relating to NMB may apply to other hotspots as they emerge in the country.

We are pleased that government has recognised the need to maintain full economic activity.  We remain mindful of the need for responsible measures to mitigate risks pertaining to the transmission of the virus.  We are therefore in full support of targeted, localized intervention that may result in a reduction of COVID-19 cases, including tighter restrictions, limiting trading hours for the sale of alcohol, reduced numbers for gatherings and extending the daily period of the curfew.

B4SA has acknowledged the significant efforts being made by the alcohol industry in the Eastern Cape region.  A joint task team has been formed to collaborate in addressing COVID-19 challenges, and responsible consumption, in the province. Industry interventions include: the training and deployment of community patrollers, enforcing compliance from the liquor outlets around safety protocols, licencing conditions, gender-based violence and femicide risks and pedestrian fatalities.   The industry is also providing additional medical supplies to the province and is supporting measures to raise community awareness and provide sanitizers and masks in areas around the NMB Metro. 

Encouragingly, and an intervention that B4SA endorses, the alcohol industry is seeking to forge a social compact with the government, industry, and civil society to support the sector’s safety priorities, which are to reduce the incidence of binge drinking, drink driving, and underage drinking and gender-based violence.

To restore and boost investor and consumer confidence in South Africa, we must do all that we can to ensure that the country does not return to a hard lockdown – irrespective of infection rates.   We are hopeful that we will be able to continue to engage with government and other social partners to refine regulation as appropriate.

B4SA WEBINAR: WEBINAR LINK

On Wednesday 25 November 2020, the social partners came together in a Webinar to discuss collaboration for localisation during the height of the pandemic. Listen to Tebogo Makube (DTIC), Tony Ehrenreich (COSATU) and Ross Boyd (B4SA) here, as they discussed “How We Did It – insights into radical collaboration”.

You can also download the presentation that accompanied the webinar here

How We Did It

“…insights into radical collaboration”