Author: Francois Francois Redelinghuys

The Solidarity Movement said today there is no longer any reason why the current level of the lockdown regulations should not be relaxed to level 1 tonight. This follows after it became known earlier today that President Ramaphosa will address the country again tonight.

According to Solidarity Movement Chairperson Flip Buys, the infection rate in the country has dropped to such an extent that it would be irrational to keep the country on the same lockdown level as it was at the peak of the second wave. “The logic behind a lockdown is to slow down the infection rate to such an extent that hospitals have enough capacity to handle the number of patients that need care. However, that no longer a risk because the number of cases has virtually halved, as was the trend during the first wave,” Buys said.

According to Buys, there is no longer any reason to tie down the economy and destroy sectors such as tourism and the liquor industry, which have already almost been brought to their knees, by extending the level 3 regulations.

Furthermore, Connie Mulder, head of the Solidarity Research Institute, argues that the government’s insistence on lockdown regulations as the only measure to combat the spread of the virus is very short-sighted and does not do much to slow down the spread of the virus. However, it does succeed in accelerating the public’s distrust of the government.

“By introducing lockdown regulations that come into effect immediately without consulting the public and the necessary industries, members of the public are encouraged to revise their confidence in the government’s ability to act responsibly and rationally.”

Buys emphasises that the time has now come to urgently relax the lockdown measures. “Our message is clear – open up the country and stop treating the public like children. The only thing worse than the public managing the crisis by themselves is the government continuously trying to do so,” Buys said.

“The Solidarity Movement believes that the economy, together with working healthily and education provided healthily, can be opened up in a healthy way,” Buys concluded.

The Solidarity Movement today said that the ANC’s harmful economic policy is the main threat for pensions. This remains the case whether or not the government has, for the time being, put its resolve to enforce prescribed assets on ice.

The Movement also stated that especially asset managers should still remain particularly alert and act in the best interests of their members.

This comes after Minister Tito Mboweni in his MTBPS speech was the first to state that the government would try to make it easier for pension funds to invest in government projects on a voluntary basis. Subsequently, the Head of Infrastructure and Investment in the Presidency Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa also alluded to convincing pension funds to invest in government projects.

According to Flip Buys, chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, it is understandable that South Africans are concerned about the future of their pension funds. “It is common knowledge that the government is facing a fiscal crisis due to, among other things, continuing mismanagement and corruption.”

“Pension funds are the proverbial pot of gold that could be invested in local projects to help stimulate the economy. The government has an extremely poor track record when it comes to the delivery of projects. To accept that this trend would change overnight and that such projects would now mean a significant return for pension fund members is mere wishful thinking,” Buys emphasised.

According to Buys, the ANC’s harmful economic policy is still a major millstone around the neck of the economy. “If the ruling party does not part with its harmful ideas, including expropriation without compensation, an excessively high government wage bill and persistent bailouts to obsolete state entities, the economy will keep on reeling,” Buys said.

The Solidarity Movement sent a letter of warning to President Ramaphosa and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, cautioning them that any tightening of the existing lockdown restrictions would be ineffective and devastating for the economy and the citizens of the country.

It is expected that President Ramaphosa will address the nation early next week, after considering recommendations in a report by the health department.

“In the past, the government enforced measures that were ambiguous, impractical and irrational. We caution President Ramaphosa that we will challenge any further irrational and unreasonable measures in court,” said Flip Buys, chairperson of the Solidarity Movement.

“Fear of a second wave of the pandemic is constantly provoked, and every slight increase in numbers receives prominent attention. The reality is that the average rate of positive tests remains below 10% of those tested, while it was 30% when South Africa reached its peak,”  Buys said.

“Positive cases can easily be manipulated by increasing the number of tests in order to give the impression of a second wave. However, measuring the relationship between testing and positive cases would actually be the true measurement,” Buys said.

The Solidarity Movement strongly believes that drastic lockdown measures would not make a tangible difference in the number of positive cases. However, there will be decisive, tangible economic consequences due to drastic measures.

•    In the second quarter, 2,2 million people lost their jobs, and a significant number of them are the most vulnerable in South Africa.
•    The expected deficit in tax collection will amount to more than R300 billion.
•    The GDP fell by 16,4% in one quarter, which represents a 51% year-on-year decline.

The Solidarity Movement strongly advises the government not to introduce tighter lockdown measures, and the necessary legal steps will be taken should any absurd and unreasonable measures be introduced.

Three Dutch members of parliament reiterated their concerns about farm attacks and the ANC government’s planned expropriation without compensation in a series of questions put to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stef Blok. This comes after the Dutch parliament last year adopted a motion that expresses opposition to expropriation without compensation. In terms of this motion, Minister Blok had to convey the Netherlands’ disapproval of this policy to the South African government.

For the past two years, the Solidarity Movement has been actively calling on governments in Europe to put more pressure on the South African government. According to Jaco Kleynhans, head of international liaison at the Solidarity Movement, the 12 questions to minister Blok were raised by two MPs of the centrist Christian-Democratic Appeal (CDA), Martijn van Helvert and Jaco Geurts, and the leader of the Reformed Political Party (SGP), Kees van der Staaij. Last year’s motion was tabled by the CDA and the SGP, and was also supported by the ruling party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), as well as the Christian Union, 50Plus, Forum for Democracy and the Party for Freedom.

In the questions addressed to Minister Blok the three members of parliament seek clarity on the Dutch government’s liaison with Pres. Ramaphosa on farm murders and expropriation of land. They also appealed to the minister to consider reporting farm attacks to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council.

According to Kleynhans, there is support for good relations between South Africa and the Netherlands among a majority of Dutch politicians. “During my six visits to the Netherlands over the past 18 months and in discussions with politicians from across the entire political spectrum it is clear that Dutch politicians and business people want to further the strong relationship between the two countries, even to expand it. However, there are serious concerns about the decay of government, corruption, safety (including farm attacks) and property rights. Various Dutch companies are doing business in South Africa and are considering further expansion but the planned expropriation without compensation will derail such investment”.

Our message to politicians in the twelve countries in Europe with whom we have recently engaged is that serious pressure must be exerted on the South African government”. The Solidarity Movement is also canvassing support from parties in the European Parliament in the hope that the European Union will take a stand on the situation in South Africa.

There is no longer any justification for continuing a state of disaster, and the shift to level 1 of the national lockdown is too little, too late. The Solidarity Movement will take legal action if the state decides to extend it again on 15 October.

Flip Buys, Chairman of the Solidarity Movement argues: “The continued lockdown already turned into a much larger disaster than the Covid-19 pandemic itself, threatening the livelihoods of millions of people. Coercion by the state should be abandoned immediately in favour of personal responsibility for people’s health.”

According to the Movement, a state of disaster only has the right to exist if the state can manage the effect of the disaster better than its citizens and businesses. “We are past this point and need to start moving away from state control to civic responsibility,” said Buys.

Werner Human, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Solidarity, explained the following: “There is absolutely data to support the line of thought that the only way to fight the threat of a virus, is to place a country as a whole subject to a quasi-autocracy.”

Solidarity states that even with the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the state failed to manage the pandemic effectively. According to Solidarity, they were reckless in managing the economy and their cadres abused the state of disaster to loot.

“The state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act, has recently been renewed for the sixth consecutive month despite the drastic decrease in the impact of the virus, as well as the drastic increase in the harmful impact of the lockdown. Level 1 still leaves a lot of uncertainty and places an unfair burden on too many people,” said Human.

“It is urgent that the country returns to a healthy normal, so that the work to rebuild the country can be undertaken again. The state’s latest plan to get the economy back on track will lead nowhere if confidence in the country’s management is not restored quickly. Trust is the only real stimulus that will get the country out of its current dead-end. For that, certainty regarding policies, fiscal discipline, a clean state, competent country administration and legal certainty is essential. Without tackling actual corruption, mismanagement and policies that lead to the country’s downgrading even before the pandemic, economic plans will only remain on paper,” continued Buys.

“Job creation will only occur if deeper lying reformation is brought about, and if socialist plans and racial prescriptions are abandoned in favour of proven policies that promote economic growth,” concluded Buys.