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Businesses Are Worried About A Third Covid-19 Wave 23 March 2021 - www.tametimes.co.za
The trade sector experienced a tough start to the new year, and much of the performance of the sector still largely reflects a Covid-19 narrative, the latest retail trade survey by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) shows. The survey took place from 18 January to 1 March 2021, with most of the responses received during the last two weeks of February. It shows that in the first quarter of 2021, retailer confidence declined by 13 index points to 37. This was to be expected, considering that much of the momentum gained in the final quarter of last year was from pent-up demand for alcohol, anticipated festive season sales, and the vital social grant top ups, which all petered out by the first quarter, the BER said.
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Furthermore, the sector also benefitted from a significant uptick in the durable goods category in the fourth quarter, as many people still worked from home, or home-schooled their children, and continued to effect home improvements and purchase home office equipment and furniture. However, this trend reversed in the first quarter of 2021. Despite the decline in 21Q1, overall retailer confidence levels remain in line with the long-term average of 38. “Looking ahead into the second quarter, it is discouraging that the overall retail sector, except for the nondurable retailers, is pessimistic about business conditions and sales volumes,” said the BER. The group said that significant risks lie ahead with the prospect of a third wave in South Africa looming amid a very
slow vaccine rollout. Renewed lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the virus will certainly harm the sector, the BER said. “Furthermore, given the hikes in fuel and electricity prices, rising food inflation, below-inflation adjustments to social grants and the expiration of the SRD grant and TERS programme at the end of April, there is a real risk that the household finances of lowincome consumers could come under significant pressure. This could hurt non-durable goods sales volumes in particular.” The BER said that the weak labour market as well as the power supply crisis at Eskom also do not bode well for the trade sector in general. “In all, given that the pent-up demand for durable goods has now mostly been met, coupled with some warning bells for the hitherto robust non-durable goods sector, momentum in the second quarter will in all likelihood depend on the performance of semi-durable goods
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“Furthermore, given the hikes in fuel and electricity prices and rising food inflation, there is a real risk that the household finances of low-income consumers could come under significant pressure.” retailers, particularly through the sale of winter clothing and school uniforms.” The BER said that the outlook for the motor trade sector is slightly more encouraging, with new vehicle dealers expecting both business conditions and sales volumes to improve notably in the second quarter. “Much of the optimism is fuelled by the prospect of a further recovery in the domestic economy and more people returning to work, which could boost sales volumes given that interest rates remain low,” it said.
02
23 March 2021
South Africans planning trips abroad may want to halt plans According to Skyscanner’s live interactive map, most countries across the seven continents have restricted access to South African travellers. One of the reasons for this may be the rapid spread of a new variant of SARSCoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. As a result, the closure of borders caused airlines to stop flight operations to and from South Africa and made international travellers weary of travelling within South Africa. According to the map, South Africans
can travel to nine destinations enforcing low restrictions, meaning that they are permitted to travel there and are not likely to quarantine when they arrive at / from the destination. These countries include Cameroon, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Costa Rica and Pakistan. Around 121 destinations are currently enforcing major restrictions, meaning that travel is not permitted, the country may be closed or entry is only possible if you are a citizen and meet strict requirements.
Countries currently closed to South African travellers include Madagascar, Libya and the majority of Europe, Asia and the United States. Around 95 countries have moderate restrictions, meaning that travel is possible if travellers meet its entry regulations, including taking a Covid-19 test or quarantine when they arrive or return. These countries include Namibia, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Ireland. The travel restrictions on South Africans
have taken a toll on travellers and the country’s tourism sector. IOL Travel reported last week that Ireland’s Minister for Justice Helen McEntee extended the ban on visa-free travel to Ireland from South Africa due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the past, South African travellers visited Ireland without a visa to enjoy attractions like The Cliffs of Moher and Kylemore Abbey. Skyscanner is a travel fare aggregator website and travel engine used by 60 million people per month.
President Ramaphosa Promises Covid-19 Vaccines To Everybody In SA
President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised that government was working to “ensure that the Covid-19 vaccine is available to every person in the country”. He did not provide a time frame for this. During the virtual Human Rights day address on Sunday, Ramaphosa said that “unity” and “the strong culture of human rights in our country” largely contributed to South Africans being able to weather the coronavirus storm.
Epidemiologists had, earlier this month, expressed doubt whether South Africa would be able to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating 67% of its population or around 40 million people by yearend. The rollout has been slow and a vaccination calculator, developed by local data journalists, showed that it would take more than 18 years to achieve that target at the current rate of vaccinations. Ramaphosa said that South Africans had
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come a long way from being a society that cared for a few at the expense of the majority, as government, in partnership with social partners and civil society, worked to realise human rights for all. “Through the provision of care to the sick and social support to the vulnerable, we have worked together to give effect to the most important rights of our people,” he said, “the right to life, to health and to dignity” He also said government had implemented “social and income support measures to support struggling households, workers and businesses” in recognition of the impact the pandemic had on people’s ability to earn a living. South Africans should work towards establishing a country that was even better than before. Build an economy “that promises equal opportunity for all” The struggle to get through the pandemic was “far greater than ourselves” and went beyond just securing one’s own job, health and safety. “It is a fight to preserve our common humanity,” Ramaphosa said, and this would involve working together as government, labor,
business, or communities. DA leader, John Steenhuisen, said government’s failure to procure Covid-19 vaccines and its failure to put in place a rollout program “has been the ANC government’s single worst failure in the 27 years of our democracy” He said this was a violation of the rights of South Africans to healthcare services. The party has launched a “vaccine tracker” to “monitor South African’s vaccine procurement and nationwide rollout” According to Steenhuisen, the rights of South Africans had been “eroded” under the lockdown and mentioned the police brutally at the start of South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown last year as an example. In the first 40 days, there were 589 complaints of assault filed against the police with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, with 32 South Africans dying at the hands of police. He also questioned the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act, which enabled government to curtail people’s rights to earn a living, to move around freely and go to school.
23 March 2021
03
Government Workers Demand At Least R36,000 In Covid-19 ‘Danger Pay’ The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) has outlined some of the demands it will be making when negotiations with the government begin later this year – including a new minimum wage for workers. The union, which represents 160,000 workers across 257 municipalities, held its national collective bargaining conference last week to discuss the wage proposals. SAMWU said that workers can no longer be tied to multi-year agreements which are not in their interest, and called for the end of multi-year wage agreements. Further, it said it will negotiate for a R4,000 increase across the board for all workers. The biggest shift, however, is that the conference resolved that a R15,000 minimum wage would be reasonable and appropriate for all workers in the sector. According to the bargaining council agreement for the sector in 2020, the current minimum wage payable to municipal workers is R8,330. If the union’s demands were to be met, this would amount to an 80% increase in the minimum wage for the sector (excluding benefits). Some of the other key resolutions include: Housing allowance – The introduction
of a R3,500 housing allowance for all workers, and that municipalities should make available serviced stands for workers to build their own houses. Medical aid – For low-earning workers, the union will demand 80% medical aid contribution by employers while workers will contribute 20%. In addition, the union will demand the scrapping of capping medical aid contributions by employers in both sectors. It was also resolved that in instances of death or retirement, workers should be given a paid-up certificate, meaning that the employer will continue with contributions towards medical aids. Parental leave – The union will demand six months of maternity leave with full pay for mothers and one-month of maternity leave with full pay for fathers. Parental leave shall include childbearing, adoption of a child and stillborn. Pension funds – The union will demand a 25% employer contribution towards pension. In addition, workers should be allowed to voluntarily contribute towards savings Danger/risk allowance – The union will demand an ex-gratia (voluntary) payment from the time that the country declared a state of disaster. This amount has been set at R3,000 per month (R36,000 as of March 2021). Government vs wages The government’s fiscal strategy over
the next three years is to narrow the deficit and stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio, Treasury said in its budget on Wednesday (24 February). Key to this will be the reduction of government worker wages – with the issue expected to come to a head in the next few months. While the country’s Labour Appeals Court has sided with the government on the reneging of the 2018 wage agreements, any change to this, through further court action, would leave the government with billions of rands owed to workers in back-pay. These uncertainties, as well as the wage negotiations ahead, risk destabilising the finance ministry’s consolidation goals. Unions have made it clear that they will not take the wage cuts lying down. Federations organised mass protests ahead of the budget, making demands for a R12,500 minimum wage, a moratorium on retrenchments, and several other costly benefits – with indications that there will be more to come, should government proceed with its plans to freeze or cut wages. Unions have said they will accept nothing less than an above-inflation pay increase in this year’s negotiations, and have threatened further strike action across the country should things not go their way.
Prefects initiate a Sprayathon to raise Cancer Awareness
On Friday, 12th of March 2021, the High School Prefects of Marist Brothers Linmeyer initiated a Sprayathon during break in aid of Cancer Awareness Month. The students and staff had their hair sprayed and the donations were handed over to CANSA - East Rand Care Centre.
New Marist Brothers Linmeye Principal
Marist Brothers Linmeyer is very excited to announce that Mr Regan Nicholas will be taking over the leadership reins of our High School from Mr Gary Norton when he retires at the end of 2021. Mr Nicholas has 30 years of experience in education with extensive experience as a Deputy Principal gained at Dainfern College. He has more recently served as Senior Deputy Head of College at Steyn City School. Mr Nicholas hails from KZN where he spent his formative years, raised in the Catholic faith, and commenced his career in education before relocating to Gauteng in 2001. Passionate about the holistic
Laerskool Randhart spog met graad 1-tweelinge Ons is trots daarop om hierdie jaar met vier stelle tweelinge in graad 1 te spog. Graag wil ons aan die vier gesinne baie welkom sê by die Rantiesfamilie. Ons sien daarna uit om die pad saam met julle vir die volgende sewe jaar te stap.
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development of students and pastoral wellness of staff, Mr Nicholas identifies closely with our Marist ethos and educational strategy. His personal motto: “Be honestly myself, even if it means I am criticized for it.” As an outdoor enthusiast, Mr Nicholas has a love of travel, which he combines with his passion for history, and enjoys hiking, fishing and cycling. He has been married to Melanie for 30 years. The couple have an adult daughter, Megan. We look forward to warmly welcoming Mr Nicholas to our Marist community and congratulate him on his appointment as High School Principal of Marist Brothers Linmeyer from 2022! Ava & Ethan Do Cabo
23 March 2021
DOE Formula Vee Season Off To A Great Start The first racing of the 2021 DOE Formula Vee season took place at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday the 13th of March as part of the Regional Extreme Festival. Many thanks to our sponsors DOE Quality Parts and StartMyCar for making it possible as well as 1st Race and Bridgestone. Not everyone could be at the track for the practice sessions on Friday, but those who were there were busy working getting their cars prepared and enjoying track time. Drivers spent every lap they could utilize during practice to set up their cars for Saturday morning early qualifying session. The full 21 car field lined up in the prerace paddock to go out for qualifying. All drivers/teams made their plans to build together and use each other for some slipstreaming and create clean lines through the session. Unfortunately, 2020 Rookie of the year had a run in with a gate pole on pit exit leavin him stranded with rear suspension damage. Fastes lap in qualifying went to defending champion Lushen Ramchander, unfortunately due to a technical issue on Friday this meant that he had a 5-place grid penalty for race 1, giving Lendl Jansen the top starting position followed by Brandon Hill and Greg Wilson. After qualifying saw Hills racing rebuild Booyens broken suspension to get all 21 cars on the grid for race 1. RACE 1 : The race was exciting, from the start Lendl Jansen grabbed first position and held onto it Brandon Hills giving him some competition during the early laps however Lendl kept and increased his lead with every lap. A struggle developed between Hills, Wilson and van den Berg which was not much upset when Hills ran wide and caught some gravel. Lushen Ramchander did not have a good race and slowly dropped back as the race went
on, finishing 11th. Great battles formed throughout the field leaving the top 6 drivers battling for 2nd position behind Jansen. Midpack saw Peter Hills, MD Bester, Jeandre le Roux and Vaughn Hills fight to finish out the top 10 positions. During the latter parts race Kyle Watt was slowed by a spin and Theodore Vermaak retired due to steering issues on lap 4. The race was won by Lendl Jansen, followed in by Greg Wilson and Gert van den Berg. Henk van den Berg, Jannie Geyser, Josef Kotze, Blane De Meillon all battled in the rear of the pack from start to finish! During the break mechanics got to fixing Luschen Ramchander’s car but was not able to be sorted leaving him not being able to start the next heat. Vermaak’s car was fixed and left him with confidence to start race 2. Usual after race prep gets mechanics and drivers to work on their cars relooking wheel alignment and tire pressures, some suspension changes the get more out of the cars in the next heat. Race 2 : Once again Lendl Jansen grabbed and held the lead. He was followed by Greg Wilson and Gert van den Berg. MD Bester disturbed the field a little when he got a touch by Jannie Geyser spinning him a perfect 360 and a broken nosecone. Fuming Bester charged from his recovery catching up with incredible pace. The racing for second, third, fourth and fifth place was again exciting but stayed fairly constant for most of the race until van den Berg made a bit of a mistake allowing Brandon and Peter Hills as well as Richard Carr to slip past him. Lendl was followed to the flag by Brandon Hills, Peter Hills and Richard Carr. Mid pack saw Van der Linde, le Roux, Vermaak and Vaughn Hills fight for top ten honours, Bester caught up to them finishing in 9th place. Battle of the rookies saw all of them finishing and having great battles of their own. Henk van
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den Berg, Jannie Geyser and Josef Kotze had some position changes throughout the race leaving David Austin, Blane De Meillon and Klinton Kane finishing off the rear of the field. The day’s racing ended with Lendl Jansen leading the charts, Greg Wilson taking second place and Brandon Hills in third place. The day ended with prize giving with Lendl Jansen taking first for the National Championship, Second going to Greg Wilson and third to Brandon Hills. In the Association Championship, first prize was awarded to Richard Carr, followed by Jeandre le Roux in second and M.D. Bester in third. Rookie trophies were given to Henk van den Berg, Klinton Kane, Kyle Watt and Marcel Blignaut. Shaun van der Linde received the Lucky Loser Trophy. Obviously, Lendl Jansen won the Exceptional Driver of the Day award, while Rookie of The Day went to Henk van den Berg, the Lucky Draw went to Brandon Hills. We look forward to the next race which takes place on the 14th and 15th of May at Phakisa. Written by Gerhard Rissik from CARtourque and Theodore Vermaak
Sundowns open up lead Log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns opened a four-point lead at the top of the DStv Premiership table following their 1-1 draw with basement dwellers Black Leopards at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday. After 18 matches, Sundowns remain unbeaten but the surprising draw spoilt their attempt to be become the first team this season to win five consecutive games. Leopards, rock bottom on the log, have 13 points from 20 games. Leopards started like a house on fire and came within a whisker of scoring twice in the opening four minutes. Somewhat against the run of play, Sundowns opened the scoring in the ninth minute when left-back Lyle Lakay reeled in a corner kick which was smartly met by midfielder Lebohang Maboe. His glancing header flew past Leopards’ Bissau-Guinea keeper Jonas Mendes - the goal was the product of a training ground move (1-0). Lakay has established himself as one of the finest dead-ball specialists in the league. For the rest of the first half, Sundowns slowed down the pace of the match and played possession football. There was little urgency about their play and whenever they lost possession, Leopards were quick to stage counter-attacks. On the stroke of halftime, the Leopards midfielder Rodney Ramagalela came close to scoring after his parting shot ricocheted off the post. Leopards were hugely disrupted by two-first injuries. Despite this setback, they had three genuine goal-scoring chances. Sundowns continued to dictate play in the second half. Just ahead of the hour mark, defender Sphelele Mkhulise, who had joined the striking force upfront, was well placed to score, but he blasted his effort high above the crossbar. Much like the first half, Leopards had their moments in the second stanza to open their scoring account, but they failed to exploit their opportunities. However, in the 80th minute, they sprung a surprise on the defending champions who looked all set to bag maximum points. Leopards substitute Roderick Kabwe (Black Leopards) scored with a cheeky back-heel flick after Sundowns defence failed to deal with Rodney Ramagalela’s goalmouth cross.