# President’s co-ordinating council agrees to gradual easing of lockdown

- Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/2020/04/18/presidents-co-ordinating-council-agrees-to-gradual-easing-of-lockdown/
- Published: 2020-04-18T21:09:59+02:00
- Author: dearSA

![](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20191108/Screenshot-
64.png "Screenshot (64)")

The president’s co-ordinating council on Saturday agreed to the gradual easing of
regulations after the lockdown period in an effort to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the virtual meeting that brought together ministers,
premiers, mayors and local government leaders to assess government’s efforts to 
curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“The PCC today agreed on the need for a risk-adjusted approach to the resumption
of economic activity at the completion of the lockdown period,” a statement from
the presidency read.

Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko said government will be guided by available
evidence which supports the ongoing containment of the virus.

This comes after local government minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said this week
that government will not “open the floodgates” by allowing a wholesale end to the
lockdown at the end of the month.

This, government conceded, will further impact an already ailing economy.

“The meeting was unanimous that the impact on the SA economy would depend on the
pace and magnitude of the interventions which would be required of all social partners,”
Diko said.

The PCC meeting agreed that government must put measures in place “to ensure that
more cash is put in the hands of households to induce economic activity in the medium
term”.

She said this includes the need to fast track the implementation of identified structural
reforms — without detailing what this would be.

“Government must also develop an economic recovery plan for municipalities which
are expected to bear the brunt of the economic, political and social fallouts from
Covid-19 as engines of our national economy and the coalface of delivery.”

Cabinet was expected to come up with an economic plan on Wednesday but that was 
deferred to a meeting on Monday after consensus could not be reached.

“The meeting further made inputs for Cabinet’s consideration when it meets on Monday,
20 April 2020, relating to the need for an economic reconstruction plan which appreciates
the huge damage that Covid-19 would have wrought on the SA economy,” Diko said.

“Since the lockdown, over 100,000 households across the country have been provided
with food parcels, with further households being targeted through the  Solidarity
Fund and department of social development’s Disaster Relief Fund. The SA Social 
Security Agency (Sassa) has also set aside over R400m for social relief of distress
through food parcels and vouchers to be rolled out on a larger scale. The PCC agreed
that these efforts needed to be significantly expanded as a matter of urgency. PCC
further emphasised the need for social distress efforts to be dispensed in a manner
that upholds the dignity of all beneficiaries,” Diko said.

The top tier of government also agreed to ramp up water provision across the country.

On Friday, there were 50 deaths linked to Covid-19 with 2,783 confirmed cases.

[Article by Times Live](https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2020-04-18-presidents-co-ordinating-council-agrees-to-gradual-easing-of-lockdown/)