Open letter to President Ramaphosa and the Cabinet from South African economists, economic and business analysts and economic justice advocates

A group of over 75 South African economists and analysts argues that current government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are insufficient in scale. They propose a comprehensive set of measures including income transfers, payment holidays, expanded emergency loans, and increased health system funding to protect vulnerable populations and sustain businesses during the crisis.

• The authors predict a significant economic contraction in South Africa, estimating that GDP could drop by between 1.8% and 7%, which would lead to devastating effects on livelihoods and jobs.
• The letter argues that South Africa's current economic response is inadequate compared to other nations; for instance, the UK, France, and the US injected 18.9%, 13.6%, and 10.7% of their GDP respectively into their economies.
• The authors highlight that the economic hardship of the pandemic will disproportionately affect black people, particularly black women and children, due to existing societal inequalities.
• Proposed measures to support households include the implementation of a special COVID-19 grant, top-ups to existing grants, or a universal basic income grant, alongside a ban on evictions from houses and farms.
• To sustain businesses, the authors recommend expanding access to low-rate emergency loans via the South African Reserve Bank and implementing compulsory payment holidays for rent, mortgages, and municipal taxes.
• Public health recommendations include increasing resources for testing and treatment, pooling resources between private and public providers, and scaling up the local production of medicines and health equipment.
• The authors suggest monetary policy interventions to manage the exchange rate and prevent capital flight, and propose a 'helicopter drop' of R1000 per individual for four months to complement grants.
• The letter asserts that the required scale of intervention will necessitate additional fiscal and monetary expansion by the Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

APA

Hall, R., Vally, S., Hosking, E., Cousins, B., Brunette, R., Satgar, V., Ndlovu, S., Goldman, I., Webster, E., Crewe, M., Viljoen, F., Schoeman, M., Maserumule, M. H., Skinner, C., Bagus, Z., Konrad, S., van Nieuwkerk, A., Klerck, G., & Kasrils, R. (2020). Open letter to President Ramaphosa and the Cabinet from South African economists, economic and business analysts and economic justice advocates. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/over-75-economists-say-government-can-do-more-to-mitigate-the-economic-harm-of-covid-19/

Chicago

Hall, Ruth, Salim Vally, Emma Hosking, Ben Cousins, Ryan Brunette, Vishwas Satgar, Sibusisiwe Ndlovu, et al. Open letter to President Ramaphosa and the Cabinet from South African economists, economic and business analysts and economic justice advocates. Institute for Economic Justice, 2020. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/over-75-economists-say-government-can-do-more-to-mitigate-the-economic-harm-of-covid-19/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hall |first1=Ruth |last2=Vally |first2=Salim |last3=Hosking |first3=Emma |last4=Cousins |first4=Ben |last5=Brunette |first5=Ryan |last6=Satgar |first6=Vishwas |last7=Ndlovu |first7=Sibusisiwe |last8=Goldman |first8=Ian |last9=Webster |first9=Edward |display-authors=etal |title=Open letter to President Ramaphosa and the Cabinet from South African economists, economic and business analysts and economic justice advocates |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=31 March 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/over-75-economists-say-government-can-do-more-to-mitigate-the-economic-harm-of-covid-19/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hall2020open, author = {Hall, Ruth and Vally, Salim and Hosking, Emma and Cousins, Ben and Brunette, Ryan and Satgar, Vishwas and Ndlovu, Sibusisiwe and Goldman, Ian and Webster, Edward and Crewe, Mary and Viljoen, Frans and Schoeman, Maxi and Maserumule, Mashupye H and Skinner, Caroline and Bagus, Zubeida and Konrad, Sky and van Nieuwkerk, Anthoni and Klerck, Gilton and Kasrils, Ronnie}, title = {{Open letter to President Ramaphosa and the Cabinet from South African economists, economic and business analysts and economic justice advocates}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/over-75-economists-say-government-can-do-more-to-mitigate-the-economic-harm-of-covid-19/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }