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South Africa: COVID spike triggers recession fears
By John Eche
The renewed spike in COVID-19 cases in South Africa is triggering fears of a very likely fresh situation of economic recession in the country in the immediate future, The Difference has learnt.
This is coming even as the authorities in Pretoria have presently confirmed that the number of cases related to the debilitating pandemic has already crossed the worrying one million number threshold, the first in any African nation since the pandemic entered the continent earlier in the year.
Analysts say that given the almost inevitable imperative of yet another lockdown that it is expected would be declared anytime soon by President Cyril Ramaphosa – which is already being precipitated by travel bans and other control measures – it would be very difficult to keep the economy in top shape and to deliver on revival plans.
Paradoxically, the rainbow nation which has continued to push on all fronts to stay afloat in recent years, has only just emerged out of what is its longest recession in the past 28 years.
A lot of the fresh challenge is coming on account of the new strain of COVID-19 that is equally having a debilitating effect on countries like the United Kingdom.
President Ramaphosa is due to disengage from the Chairmanship of the African Union Council of Heads of States which he has held in the past one year, in a matter of days.
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa
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