The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) has added its voice to growing calls for the nationwide lockdown restrictions to be lifted and get people back to work while imposing strict hygiene conditions in the workplace.
This as economists predict that the South African economy is likely to shrink by as much as 10% and the country’s debt to the GDP grow from 60 to 80% this year.
The ACDP says the economy is facing one of its worse challenges ever.
ACDP Deputy President Wayne Thring says, “The ACDP believes that our focus should rather be to protect those that are more vulnerable. The elderly and those with underlying medical conditions while applying an arial or zonal approach to restrictions rather than mutilating our economy. It is time to lift the restrictions on our economy and get our people back to work.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) interim leader John Steenhuisen made similar calls earlier.
Steenhuisen has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to update the nation on the continued lockdown of the country relating to COVID-19.
He says it has been more than two weeks since Ramaphosa last addressed the nation on the issue, when he announced that the country would move to level 4 lockdown.
He wants Ramaphosa to address the nation at least once a week and also take questions from the media during the briefing.
In the video below, DA leader John Steenhuisen says the lockdown is doing more harm than good:
