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President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned South Africans about Job losses expected during and post Covid-19, he has said this on his weekly Newsletter that the ‘Job loss Tsunami’ that has hit economically strong countries like the USA, UK and China is going to hit hard on an already economically challenged country South Africa. The country was already facing unemployment of 27.32% at the beginning of the year and more job losses to be experienced by South Africans.
He said that measures that had been put in place to offer relief were continuing to provide vital support and the government remained optimistic that as we gradually returned to some form of normalcy, the growing investment levels we were seeing before the coronavirus hit would slowly but surely return.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged companies planning to cut jobs to balance the sustainability of business and the livelihoods of workers despite being hard hit by COVID-19.
“As much as we seek to protect current jobs, we also need to create new ones, and attract new, greater levels of investment,” Ramaphosa said in his weekly address to the nation.
He stressed the importance of opening avenues for self-employment and entrepreneurship, especially for young people.
The president was speaking after a number of companies last week announced plans to retrench staff. From aviation to construction, from entertainment and leisure to hospitality, companies have indicated their intention to cut staff because of heavy losses incurred over the past three months.
In some cases, businesses are closing permanently.
Small businesses whose turnover has been wiped out will be even harder hit.
An estimation of up to 1 million job losses is expected in South Africa due to Covid-19
Chief economist at Old Mutual Johann Els estimated that the country’s economy could shrink by 2%, while major auditing firm PwC predicted a 1.5% contraction.
