The document discusses the Democratic Alliance's opposition to extending South Africa's nationwide lockdown due to concerns over its economic impact. It argues that further lockdown measures will lead to economic disaster and collapse. Instead, it advocates for a gradual phasing out of restrictions. The party has developed an alternative "lockdown grid" model balancing health and economic concerns. It also lists several proposed amendments to the current lockdown approach to improve its sustainability and prevent further economic damage, such as relaxing restrictions on essential goods and ramping up coronavirus testing.

1. A lockdown extension will create an economic disaster
by John Steenhuisen MP - Leader of the Democratic Alliance
Date: 09 April 2020
Release: Immediate
Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbite from John Steenhuisen MP.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the intention of President Cyril Ramaphosa
and his cabinet to extend the nationwide lockdown until late April to curb the
spread of the Covid-19 virus in South Africa.
We would prefer a gradual phasing out of the current lockdown over the coming
weeks as opposed to a continuation of the severe and economically-crippling
regulations we currently see.
Our great concern is that President Ramaphosa has justified this extension as if
we face a binary choice between health concerns and economic concerns.
We believe it is a great mistake to think in terms of lives versus livelihoods. This is
a false dilemma. Rather, the difficult trade-offs to be made are between lives lost
or damaged by Covid-19, and lives lost or damaged by the drastic measures to
contain its spread.
We need to understand that we have limited resources and that we need to make
difficult decisions taking into account both seen and unseen costs. This is the role
of government: to make tough choices for the greater good for the greater
number, while not forgetting that behind every statistic is a human story.
Each death resulting from the virus is a tragedy. But so is each death resulting
from caged citizens and frustrated law enforcers, and so is each victim of home

2. violence. And each malnourished child. And each newly unemployed South
African.
The absence of empirical data and modelling makes it very difficult to simply
agree that a lockdown extension may be an effective means to curb the spread of
Covid-19. The resulting economic fallout now means that it is not only lives which
are threatened by the virus, but livelihoods by our economic and financial
collapse as a result of further lockdown regulations.
Decisions made at this level, and which have such dire repercussions on the
economic wellbeing of South Africa, must be rooted in scientific research, and
pragmatic policy positions. It is essential therefore that government clearly shares
with South Africans accurate data, as well as the exact empirical metrics that
success, or otherwise, will be measured against, and that will determine the end
of the lockdown period. This is the only way we can ensure that once the
lockdown is lifted, South Africans still have jobs to return to.
The DA has been working tirelessly with industry experts, international best
practice models, and health policy specialists to compile a lockdown grid which
outlines various levels of regulation applicable to different stages of coronavirus
infection in South Africa. This will allow the lockdown to be sustained while
ensuring that the South African economy does not collapse in the process. It will
also assist in keeping the economy moving, protecting jobs and livelihoods whilst
ensuring that we continue to contain the virus.
We will be finalising this model with our Shadow Cabinet tomorrow, following
which we will submit it to the President for consideration. There is no binary
choice between a loss of life to coronavirus and a loss of life to the poverty which
faces hundreds of thousands of South Africans who may no longer have a job to
return to or an income in their households should the lockdown be extended.
In the meantime the following are essential amendments which need to be
enacted to ensure the sustainability and credibility of the lockdown, which relies
on buy-in from citizens:
1. Urgent relaxation on essential goods listings

3. The banning of the trade of certain goods such as clothing, and other items needs
to be relaxed in order to allow for retailers to sell existing stock and for
consumers to begin acquiring goods they may urgently need during the lockdown.
As such, the list of essential goods must be re-evaluated and amended as a matter
of urgency by the Minister of Trade and Industry.
2. Coronavirus testing must be ramped up
The economic fallout of a lockdown extension can only be justified by a successful
nationwide defeat of the coronavirus. It is for this reason that coronavirus testing
must be ramped up in the coming weeks, and a comprehensive system of testing,
tracking, and tracing must be put into place. Furthermore, government must
provide a scheduled briefing on coronavirus statistics every day, bearing in mind
that there is often a lag in information available and that existing data is often not
credible.
3. BBBEE requirements must be scrapped for SMME aid
It is incomprehensible that during a global pandemic, government still insists on
discriminating against ailing businesses based on race-based policy. The racial
makeup of a business should not affect its eligibility for financial rescue even
under normal circumstances let alone in a national disaster. The President must
urgently scrap this policy across all national departments, and fast track the flow
of financial aid into the economy to prevent job shedding and further economic
decline.
4. The national budget must be readjusted to fund relief efforts
The President and the Minister of Finance cannot justify billion rand SOE bailouts
footed by the taxpayer when the very industries for which they work are at risk of
shutting down as a result of the lockdown. The amounts set aside in the current
budget to fund SOE bailouts, such as the R16,4 Billion for SAA must be repurposed
and released into the economy in the form of business relief.
5. The Public Wage Bill must be amended to fund relief efforts

4. If the private sector is sustaining massive losses as a result of lockdown
regulations, then the Public Sector Wage Bill, which is already grossly and
unnecessarily bloated, needs to be trimmed to redirect funds into the economy.
We cannot have government employees buoyed by taxpayer funds while
taxpayers lose their jobs.
6. Parliamentary oversight over the lockdown is essential
Parliament must step into the 21st century and start to convene committees to
oversee governance during the lockdown period. All MPs are provided with the
necessary resources to work remotely and should be working providing oversight
during this time, while fleshing out an urgent economic recovery plan post-
lockdown.
An extension of the coronavirus lockdown in South Africa creates a further
national disaster: complete economic collapse. We must ensure that in our
attempt to protect our country from the coronavirus outbreak, we also protect
the livelihoods of our citizens who will be worse off coronavirus-free, but
unemployed as a result..