The Black Management Forum (BMF) says governments Level 4 COVID-19 lockdown regulations is justifiable.
A stream of open letters from business leaders and influential South Africans have been making the rounds over the past two weeks in which President Cyril Ramaphosa was castigated for what is seen as draconian level four level regulations.
Among the concerns expressed were the ban on tobacco, the exercise hours and the curfew between the hours of eight at night and five in the morning.
The BMF’s Tasneem Fredericks says they applaud government for the measure it has taken to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
“It was simply as a government they were quite robust in terms of ensuring a safety.”
She says as South Africans, the country’s democracy allows citizens to question government’s decisions.
“After having 26-years of freedom, people have all of sudden now gotten a taste of what Apartheid was like for black people. There’s clearly class issues that’s lurking and issues where the regulations are not being interpreted and applied equally between the ‘haves and have nots.’”
At the same time, Fredericks says while the government has been proactive in battling COVID-19, they have not been as innovative as they should be, as more could have been done.
Faizel Patel
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