Business for South Africa on 1.5m jobs lost & need for social responsibility

South Africa's most notable business export, Elon Musk, recently told the New York Times that the economy must reopen. Musk said that the vulnerable must be protected, but those who don't fall into that bracket should go to work. Martin Kingston, head of the Economic Work Group at Business for South Africa (B4SA), "absolutely agrees" with the Tesla and SpaceX founder. But, Kingston says, the people of South Africa need to play ball first. In this interview with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, Kingston explains the dire need for South Africans to be responsible. Stating that "guidelines are only as good as the people who observe and implement them," and that both businesses and the public need to work hand-in-hand in taking the necessary precautions. His advice: when it comes to wearing masks and being responsible, we are actually looking after our neighbours and are not just looking after ourselves. Kingston also adds his insight into the need for a public-private partnership. It is this twofold message that is crucial in building the way forward after over 1.5 million jobs have been lost, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. – Nadim Nyker

Covid-19 models and the economy

Alec Hogg: Martin Kingston is the head of the Economic Work Group at Business for South Africa. Lovely talking with you again, Martin. You brought out a statement today on the way that you guys are seeing the Covid-19 crisis. There's quite a lot of controversy around statistics. We have the guys from PANDA. And we have others who are advising the government at loggerheads with each other. Who does your statistical modelling at Business for South Africa?

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