Covid-19 business interruption war: hospitality sector vs insurers; Mining output plummets; MultiChoice; WC schools

By Jackie Cameron

  • A legal battle is looming between South African hospitality businesses and the insurance companies that have refused to pay out for business interruption caused by Covid-19. Insurance Claims Africa (ICA), a specialist public loss adjustment firm representing over 400 claimants, is currently in discussions with leading insurance companies, in an attempt to reach a sensible settlement for these businesses who face imminent closure. If these discussions are unsuccessful, it will turn to the courts, it has warned in a media release. The Tourism and Hospitality sector sustains over 740,000 direct and 1.5 million indirect jobs in 2018, it notes. For the full statement, see the report on BizNews.com.
  • The Western Cape Department of Health has supported the return of pupils to schools. Although the province has the highest number of Covid-19 cases, and deaths, the incidence is very low among children. As of 5 June 2020, there had been a total of 1,787 cases of Covid-19 in people under the age of 20 in the province, it said. This represents roughly 6% of all cases at the time – and of these, five children – mostly with underlying medical conditions – have died. Provincial leaders say not reopening schools will “hurt our poorest residents the most”.
  • The United States cannot shut down its economy again because of the coronavirus, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday, adding that another $1trn in rescue funds will flow into the economy over the next month. Reuters reports that Mnuchin, speaking on CNBC television, said he was prepared to go back to Congress for more money to protect jobs and workers, but aid for states would be subject to negotiations with lawmakers.
  • South African mining output dropped the most since at least 1981 in April, when the first full month of restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic brought almost all economic activity to a halt, reports Bloomberg. Total production decreased 47.3% from a year earlier, compared with an 18% decrease in March, the Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website Thursday. The production of platinum-group metals fell 62% from a year earlier, gold output dropped 59.6% and iron ore fell 68.7%, adds the news agency.
  • MultiChoice signed deals with Netflix and Amazon.com to offer their streaming services through its new decoder, a move intended to help Africa’s largest pay-TV company retain subscribers, reports Reuters. MultiChoice, spun out of Naspers in February of last year, has been battling greater competition from its US rivals after cheaper and faster internet speeds enabled them to grab a foothold on the continent. It hasn’t yet indicated how its subscription fees will change as a result of the expanded offering.
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