EDITORIAL: Time to confront the social costs of pandemic
The damage done to health care and to children who should be at school needs to be addressed
When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit SA shores and we joined much of the world in self-imposed lockdown, the policy focus was on mitigating the economic damage it was clear would result. In the end, we emerged with a 7% GDP decline over 2020. The economy is now anticipated to bounce back quite well in 2021 with projected growth of about 4.2%, though the longer term remains uncertain. To our good fortune, the recovery has been buoyed by a commodities mini-boom, which could make growth look still better and will be good for government revenues.
Some economic losses are permanent though: many small businesses closed (one survey published in collaboration with the department of small business development put this proportion at 47.9%) and as we saw in the employment numbers released this week the 1-million jobs shed in 2020 have not been recovered. The unemployment rate, which includes only those actively seeking work, rose slightly to 32.6%...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.