The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape calls on premier Zamani Saul to walk the talk by settling the long outstanding invoices to service providers in support of COVID-19 relief. Now, more than ever before, it is urgently needed for the premier to ensure that businesses receive payment for goods and services that have already been delivered to government.

While members of the provincial legislature, government employees and other officials continue to receive their salaries in the lockdown, it would be fair and economically prudent to provide the same financial security to business owners.

In the second week of the lockdown, we can already begin to calculate the economic devastation caused by the double crises of Covid-19 and the ongoing drought disaster in the province. Before the pandemic hit our shores, constraints within the provincial economy already hamstrung the operations of many businesses. Profit margins will continue to remain dangerously slim and the economic impact of Covid-19 will linger for longer than the disease.

While regulations have been relaxed to allow for the exports of goods crucial to the provincial economy, the provincial tourism sector will continue to count its losses from the cancellation of flagship events which used to be regular features on the calendar. Major events include the last AfrikaBurn event in the province, the Wildeklawer sports tournament, the Diamonds & Dorings festival, and other events hosted around the Easter weekend. Provincial high-impact projects including the Bloodhound project have been postponed indefinitely due to problems with securing donor funding and the future of other projects continues to hang in the balance.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the South African Reserve Bank cautioned earlier this week that one must expect economic contractions ranging from 2% to 4% this year.

To staunch the anticipated job losses, which economists estimate could be around 370 000, it is more crucial than ever before that the premier pays businesses their dues. We need to protect the economy, we need to protect the employers, and we need to protect the employees. Business owners and stakeholders in the SMME sector supported the lockdown, irrespective of the cost to their companies. In simple terms, they put patriotism ahead of profits by closing offices, temporarily halting business operations, sending employees home, and turning clients away.

And businesses which closed their doors in adherence to government’s strict lockdown regulations deserves government’s assistance to open their doors again.

At the end of the previous financial year, the provincial government owed more than R1.7 billion to various businesses. This price is simply too high to pay for businesses.

The selflessness of the SMME sector must be rewarded and the sustainability of smaller enterprises must be ensured. This begins by ensuring that all accounts are settled in full and on time.

After all, to accept goods or services without paying for it is nothing short of theft.

Issued by The DA