More can be done to help the most vulnerable
Temporarily providing direct income, food and medical hygiene support in the lockdown to the poor, unemployed, homeless and those in informal settlements is crucial to slowing down the rapid spread of the virus.
One way to provide support is to give a cash grant to poor people to carry them over the lockdown or during a follow-on lockdown. The grant could be distributed through the banks, SA Post Office or retail stores, in the way of social grants.
It’s sad that for many poor South Africans the coronavirus may be just another affliction, joining hunger, violence and financial survival. The reality is also that the lockdown may be extended to decisively slow down the virus.
It is important that the police and military enforce social distancing, ensure that people stay at home and that the message of clean hygiene is spread. However, enforcement on its own, in a country with high levels of poverty, homelessness, high-density settlements and high levels of informal businesses, is ineffective in combating the virus.
SA is in danger of Covid-19 spreading rapidly because many people live in overcrowded, insanitary settlements, eke out their living in overcrowded, informal work settings, commute in overcrowded informal transport, and buy their basic food in unhygienic, overcrowded informal shops. SA may have among the most immune-compromised people per capita, whether because of HIV/Aids, TB or malnutrition. Health, water and sanitation services and infrastructure are in many cases non-existent or working poorly.
Covid-19 does not discriminate. If it explodes in poor areas, the rich will also become infected.
As a part of a new social pact to deal with Covid-19, the government, business and well-off individuals will have to contribute to provide cash, food and medical hygiene supplies, such as masks, to the poor. Large corporates, professional organisations and well-off individuals could contribute to such a dedicated temporary social grant.
So far most of the financial support to alleviate the social, economic and infrastructure impacts is aimed at the formal economy — those who have formally registered businesses, jobs and assets. Yet the overwhelming majority are in informal businesses, jobs and homes. The financial support package by the government and the private sector will not reach them.
As a case in point, about 5-million people lack access to water. This is doubled if shared communal taps, broken municipal water infrastructure and unreliable supply are included. About 10-million people have little access to proper sanitation. They use either shared communal facilities, bucket toilets or relieve themselves in the open. Washing hands, surfaces and products are crucial to combating the coronavirus. This means many do not have the basic tools to combat the virus.
The government, the private sector and well-off individuals will have to provide water to poor people who are without it. Without it the poor cannot wash their hands or clean domestic surfaces.
Large corporates, professional organisations and well-off individuals could also give basic cleaning products, food and water to the poor, even it means recovering some of that expense through tax breaks. The army could distribute water, food and medical supplies to impoverished communities.
Just as some banks have offered mortgage-payment holidays, telecommunications companies could provide free minimum data for poor people to access basic information. Private sector telecommunications companies could send SMS and social media messages about symptoms, the location of Covid-19 testing areas, and how to seek help.
The government, business and civil society can run SMS and social media-based hotlines where people can seek information, help and support during this crisis. Direct financial income, food and medical hygiene support are the crucial missing links in the national strategy.
Income, food and medical hygiene support are the crucial missing links
Gumede is an associate professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and author of ’Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times’ (Tafelberg)