Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s national address on further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions has been dismissed in some quarters as shallow, confusing and failing to respond to the real needs of the populace.
Majoro on Sunday evening announced, among others, that customers will now be permitted to sit in eateries, but some restaurant owners said this is not enough as they would like their operating hours extended. At the moment they can only open at 8:00am and close at 9:00pm.
Even though borders will now open to ease cross-border trade, local entrepreneur ‘Mambhele Mthakathi, had this to say: “I am not impressed with the way the government is handling the issue of who gets to leave the country. As a small business operator, I think it’s not fair that my business will remain closed because it is not considered a necessity,” Mambele Mthakathi said.
A student who chose to remain anonymous said she is not happy that one will only be given seven days to visit South Africa as she has not seen her family in almost a year.