Ebrahim Patel Minister of trade, industry & competition

Score:

2.75

Ebrahim Patel was the subject of much anger over nonsensical regulations prohibiting the sale of cooked food and items such as underwear and open-toed shoes during the lockdown. He also came under attack for his decision to put a halt to e-commerce during the hard lockdown because allowing it would be unfair to bricks-and-mortar retailers.

It was Patel who informed SA that the sale of tobacco would be banned, saying this was not an essential good. Coming two days before the country went into the hard lockdown, it caused panic buying.

Patel is unperturbed by the criticism. In an earlier interview with the FM, he pointed out: “Some of [the criticism] may be unfair, but if you have to choose between unfair criticism on the one hand and a cowed, scared population on the other hand, it’s a no-brainer that it’s better to live in a society in which people can express their views.”

Mathekga says Patel deserves an “F” for his performance. “There was no element of considering the economy when he was gazetting these regulations. The banning of flip-flops did not make any sense. He screwed up big time,” he says.

Calland has a different view, saying Patel worked tirelessly to find the balance between protecting lives and opening the economy incrementally to preserve livelihoods — an impossible task.

He says Patel’s responding affidavit in a high court challenge to the rationality of the regulations shows he consulted widely, listened and acted to deliver regulations that passed the legal rationality test.

“[He] is also working hard to see beyond the crisis, to help prepare for a ‘new normal’ and rebuild the economy,” says Calland.

Fikeni says Patel started well with his interventions, but tripped up when he got overly prescriptive, and this backfired.