The View Point

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is in support of a much wider opening of the economy, and it will also challenge the nationwide curfew in its submissions to the government's risk-adjusted strategy. The opposition party said the move to level 4 of the lockdown is intended to allow more economy activity to take place – but is not distinguished enough from level 5. In the beginning of April, the...

Why should executive in corporate South Africa follow suit and pledge their remuneration like executive from other international companies? Well, Firstly, South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world, with the world’s largest Gini co-efficient. Secondly, business purpose is moving quickly from ‘making profits for shareholders’ to a ‘new social contract to address shared social an...

Last night President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a social relief and economic support package of R500 billion, which amounts to 10% of the GDP. R50 billion this money will be directed towards relieving the plight of the unemployed and current grant beneficiaries, through a multi-pronged approach. R20 billion will be directed to efforts to address the pandemic. R100 billion will be set aside for the...

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, will conduct a joint survey looking at how COVID-19 is impacting on health workers. Health workers are on the frontlines of the global fight against COVID-19. Across the world, with South Africa being no exception, health workers have also been infected by the vir...

It is important that we drawback to the geographic arrangements of provinces, facilities and infrastructure when analysing and preparing for the coronavirus. We focus our attention on the Eastern Cape Province and they are sitting at over 280 confirmed cases of COVID-19. This province is one of South Africa’s poorest provinces and it has seen high rates of chronic diseases over the years, which ha...

COVID-19 has profoundly disrupted every aspect of daily life across the globe. Of course, no one has it easy, but the young people in their final year of school and those who have just started a new chapter of their lives as university students will be feeling the challenges of the global pandemic in a unique way. On the tip of putting their school days behind them and entering into a new world wh...

Dr Linda Meyer, Director of Operations and Sector Support at Universities South Africa provides insights into the challenges facing tertiary education; how Universities South Africa views the current academic situation and the infrastructure in place for students and teachers. Has the current academic year been compromised or can it be salvaged? What are some of the possible solutions to addressin...

With many businesses suddenly forced to rely on the internet to operate during the national lockdown, it is now more crucial than ever for web users to correctly understand the extent of their security vulnerabilities in order to implement the right protective measures against cyberattacks. A public webinar hosted by Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, aimed...

Do African nations have as much reason to fear Covid-19 as regions where so much of the population is older? According to Professor Alex Broadbent, the biggest public health risk in Africa is not Covid-19, but the consequences of regional and global measures designed to reduce its effect on public health. He further says, when we lock down, we are making a choice - we are saving the lives of some...

The South African Democratic Teacher’s Union – SADTU, has spoken out against the Department of Basic Education’s use of celebrities in the new STEM Lockdown Digital School and the Lockdown Book Reading club that was introduced by the department. They argue that there are many unemployed and retired teachers who could have been utilized in this programme. Guest: Gerald Williamson, an Educationist,...

The South African higher education sector is rapidly preparing for the anticipated reopening of 26 universities and 50 TVET colleges in two weeks, following the three-week national lockdown aimed at slowing down the spread of COVID-19. Although COVID-19 predominantly targets and infects people older than 30, and manifests most seriously among those who are older than 65 years, younger people are n...

Without trucks South Africa would come to a standstill and it is at this crisis point where trucks need to deliver all the valuable cargo so that the rest of South Africa can continue with their day-to-day lives. We talk about the impact of Covid-19 on the trucking businesses and how they have managed to deliver essentials during this lockdown. Guest: Mr Arnoux Maré, the CEO of Innovative Staffing...

As the death toll increases and the negative economic effects deepen, there is no certain timeline about when a vaccine might be ready, and it is not known when current measures of containment will be done away with. It is for this reason that the University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Institute for the Humanities in Africa (HUMA), along with international collaborators worldwide, has launched Corona Tim...

The spread of Covid-19 has made the adoption of technology and remote and flexible working inevitable, with a likely lasting change in the way we work. But being able to successfully work from home is dependent on an individual’s self-sufficiency i.e. time-management skills, self-discipline, motivation, communication skills, adaptability and technological skills. For those suddenly adapting to the...

The disruption brought on by COVID-19 has left many SMEs across the world uncertain about their future. Couple this with a low growth environment, South Africa entering a technical recession at the beginning of March, and the country’s ratings downgrade to by Moody’s on Friday, local SMEs have been dealt a particularly bad hand. It is against this backdrop that President Ramaphosa’s announcement o...

Self discovery should be an important goal for everyone. Some people go through life playing a role to mask who they really are. Others simply become what others want them to be. “Know thyself” is a classic platitude that continues to offer a valuable reminder today. It is only through the discovery of self that we can identify our purpose and actualize our potential. On the other hand, failure to...

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is being felt by every sector of South African society, business and education. Schools and colleges are closing in countries across the world, in an effort to prevent further spread of COVID-19, remote learning is however being used in some countries as a means of limiting disruption to learners' studies. Despite the majority of South African learners having...

In an era where the protection of women and the girl child is a constant goal to reach, one cannot help but wonder what is being done to groom a generation of young men who will not only respect, but protect the women of our country. In the Eastern Cape, with the help of the Department of Social Development (DSD), a talented young man, with a gift for music, is playing his role in ensuring that th...

The Presidency has finally released the report of the judicial commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation. The commission found that there had been "substantial impropriety" at the state-owned asset manager and its board is said to have been "divided and conflicted". The report - which runs to nearly 1 000 pages - further recommends that former acting CEO Matshepo More and former...

Entrepreneur and business coach Jamal Sahib has just published his book Start with the End in Mind – The 5 Secrets to Life & Business Success. Start with the End in Mind takes readers on a journey of discovery into themselves, the people around them, and the mind-set they bring to succeeding in life and business. Using real-life coaching examples, coupled with the latest coaching techniques and in...

At many underprivileged schools throughout the country, over 9 million learners are supplied with lunch through the National School Feeding Programme, and in the frightening majority of these cases, this is the only substantial meal these children receive all day. Having worked with schools in youth marketing through his agency, Superiate, Brad Stern woke up on Monday the 16th of March – the day f...

Africa is the most-exposed region to the adverse effects of climate change despite contributing the least to global warming. The region is already disproportionately feeling the impacts related to a changing climate. Devastating cyclones affected 3 million people in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe in the spring of 2018. But even with all these adversities, the fossil fuels business, particularly...

The homeless are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus which spreads primarily through respiratory droplets coughed or sneezed from an infected person. Homeless people who mostly survive on selling recycling materials, collecting scrap and eating from the dustbins are at a risk of contracting coronavirus by touching dirty tissues from the dustbins. Furthermore, in order to prevent this virus from...

The whole world is obsessed with COVID-19, but in Africa we have been slow to be affected. Whilst our actions until now have been sufficient, the number of cases is increasing and so should our efforts. We have the 'advantage' of having seen exactly what we should be doing and when, by studying the actions of other countries, and the growing epidemiological and biomedical evidence base. We’re in c...

According to a paper by the Institute of Race Relations, the appointment of an independent water regulator is essential if South Africa is to overcome its perpetual water crisis. Entitled "Thirsty Land", the paper notes that one of the key components of success in ensuring adequate water supplies is high-quality regulation. Regulation should be the responsibility of an autonomous government agency...