Tag: corona virus

An interview with Johan Olivier, Partner Webber Wentzel, and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing employer responsibility with regard to the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace and employees.

An interview with John Botha, Chief Operating Officer, Global Business Solutions, and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing the key aspects of President Cyril Ramaphosa's COVID-19 announcement.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to decrease the repo rate by 100 basis points to 5.25%. This somewhat unprecedented move was a direct result of the deterioration in economic conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic experienced in South Africa and across the globe.

Where did all the toilet paper go? Snapshots of empty store shelves, low levels of storable staples like rice and noodles and city-states raising emergency levels has served to escalate panic buying and even shop-raiding in some parts of the world.

We have launched the COVID-19 Small Business Relief Centre to assist small businesses during this crisis. With the collaboration of experts in various business fields, this centre hopes to help small businesses weather the current coronavirus storm successfully.

South Africa’s current national state of disaster, and the uncertainty that has gripped the world, will especially impact the most vulnerable groups in our society. That includes those in casual or insecure employment who face two possibilities in the reality of social distancing: loss of income, or ongoing exposure to the virus through the front-line nature of their work.

The Department of Employment and Labour has recently provided much needed guidance in respect of questions which employers have been grappling with since President Ramaphosa's declaration of a National State of Disaster on Sunday 15 March 2020.

With reports that more than half of companies around the world do not have effective business continuity plans in place to combat an infectious disease outbreak like COVID-19 and the virus starting to take a stronger foothold in South Africa, businesses must do more to prepare themselves for the repercussions this could have on operations.

The global economy has been hit by five shocks as the coronavirus spread rapidly. This could not have been predicted, though with hindsight the market was initially much too complacent. The situation is so uncertain now that a strategy based on trying to predict the future is bound to get it wrong.

With severely limited fiscal space, planned economic reforms need to be fast-tracked. South Africa is in a grip of panic over the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The situation prompted an extraordinary address to the nation by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the evening of March 15. Apart from very real human health concerns, he commented that the outlook for the local economy – already on a weak footing heading into 2020 – is a big headache. Economic growth forecasts have been cut over the past few weeks as forecasters realise that the impact of the pandemic will be larger than previously thought. This begs the question: how will local authorities respond?