South African President Says Moving Country To Level 3 Of Coronavirus Lockdown A Milestone

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said June 1 will mark a significant shift in the country’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Eye Witness News. The shift to level 3 lockdown on Monday will see more sectors of the economy opening and some strict lockdown regulations relaxed.

During an interaction with representatives from the South African National Editors Forum in a live TV broadcast on Sunday, Ramaphosa said moving to level 3 was a milestone.

“The move to level 3, which starts on Monday, the 1st, in many ways marks a significant shift in our approach to the disease. Having moved from a lockdown to intensive public health management is quite a shift,” the South African president said.  “This is a useful opportunity to reflect on the progress that we’ve made since we started dealing with this pandemic.”

Ramaphosa said that COVID-19 had given a further boost to the capacity of the State to deliver things such as running water and he wanted to capitalise on that.

He said COVID-19 pandemic is expected to provide greater capacity and capability to reset, reposition and even repurpose the country’s state-owned enterprises.

He hinted at bringing out major changes at entities of national importance such as supplier Eskom, national carrier South African Airways; electricity and public broadcaster South African Broadcasting Services, who have all come under huge financial pressure in recent years, relying on repeated government bailouts.

“Our economy has been crying out for restructuring,” Ramaphosa said. “We’ve been operating under an economy that is both colonial and racist over many years. That economy now needs to be realigned to deal with the challenges that South Africa faces right now.”

The South African president referred to the time after COVID-19 as a post-war situation. He went on to appeal to citizens to assist in the fight against the pandemic as infection numbers are expected to increase exponentially when over eight million South Africans head back to work on Monday after 66 days of a severe lockdown.