Daily Maverick | 22 May 2020 |
In this letter to the president, organisations raise concerns about corruption during the Covid-19 crisis.
Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa
We, the undersigned organisations, commend you for the decisive action taken over the last few weeks in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.
We note the efforts of the state in placing the health and wellbeing of people at the forefront of decision-making.
However, we are acutely aware of the dire financial straits in which many find themselves. The snaking queues of people who turn up at food distribution sites and the daily reports of starving families is something that troubles us deeply.
It is becoming notably clearer that many find themselves simply unable to comply with lockdown measures, as they try just about anything to make a few rands and put bread on the table.
The impact of the lockdown has shown up South Africa’s stark historical inequalities. This virus is a raw reminder of inequality and how, when crisis strikes the poor, it does so with a different strain of severity.
The lockdown has made apparent the deep schism that exists between those who have access to data and those who don’t. It has allowed existing social tensions, such as xenophobia, to be reasserted, as the margin to access resources becomes smaller.
Yet we are also aware that, over the period of our democracy, if the interests of the people had been put above self and political interests, communities now in severe distress would have been better buffered against the socio-economic impact of the virus.
Read the full letter here
