Viewpoint

On first blush there is ample reason to be miserable. The economic data released earlier this week has once again confirmed that South Africa is in a recession. An investment downgrade is more likely to happen than not to, and the lack of tangible progress in South Africa gives little reason to cheer. Add load shedding, crime and the fact that the Corona Virus is around the corner, and one must wonder why more of us aren’t medicated. I imagine it’s partly because we can no longer afford it.

The probability of a credit rating downgrade from Moody’s does not necessarily equal ‘good’ news for SA’s economic prospects. It is merely the calm before the storm. It would be good news if SA had embarked on one or two of the required reforms – however, this has yet to happen. This temporary reprieve from Moody’s gives SA time to implement some of the changes required to right a seriously listing ship.

What is the value of one’s heart beat? What is the meaning of life? Do I matter? These are existential questions that people increasingly reflect on in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising number of existential threats facing humanity.

The unfettered liberty for individuals to pursue their socioeconomic aspirations so long as there is no force or fraud entailed in their endeavours should be the cornerstone and point of departure for all government policies. This principle should also be the litmus test in reviewing existing policies in order to expunge bad ones from the statute books.

Stats SA’s April Statistics of Liquidations and Insolvencies paint a very grim picture. The number of business liquidations increased by 53.1% between April 2018 and April 2019. The number of insolvencies increased by 30.1% between March 2018 and March 2019.

Fear-fuelled stockpiling offers astute investors valuable insights into human nature. In August 2020, South Africans formed long queues outside liquor stores across the country, hoping to stock up on alcohol before a rumoured ban came into effect. But, as it turns out, the ban was fake news, spread on WhatsApp and social media.

When seeking care from a hospital or doctor, patients will now be required to present their proof of registration with the National Health Insurance (NHI) Fund to access healthcare services. Registration can be refused. Never before have South Africans’ constitutional right to access to healthcare been so brazenly threatened by a power-hungry government. Civil society must resist the proposed NHI scheme with all its might.

Much has been written about the uniqueness of 2020 and all the changes and uncertainties that have come with it. What started as a localised and isolated health scare, very soon spread to a global pandemic. Despite fatality numbers being relatively modest as pandemics go, the uncertainty about the disease, and its transmission and propagation, caused an extreme leadership response.

South Africa and other societies spend untold millions on combating the scourge of corruption. Conferences are held on how to fight it more effectively and entire academic fields are dedicated to analysing it. We tend, however, to overthink and complicate corruption.

The world is emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, more fragmented and further away from the more equal and equitable iteration imagined in 2015 when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were conceptualised. As we hurtle at seemingly lightning speed towards the 2030 deadline to achieve these goals, the urgency is palpable.