Mzansi Spotlight

President Cyril  Ramaphosa announced a R500-billion relief package  to support the economy and the vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic. In  a special address to the nation , Ramaphosa announced "a massive social and economic support package of R500-billion, which amounts to about 10 percent of our GDP." "The impact of the coronavirus requires an extraordinary coronavirus budget... the scale of this emergency programme is historical," he said. Ramaphosa said South Africa was now entering the second phase of its COVID-19 response aimed at  stabilising the economy , addressing the decline in supply and demand and protecting jobs. Trade union federation Cosatu welcomed the measures, but called for big corporations to match the amount that the government has placed on the table.  "Nothing less than a R1-trillion stimulus plan will be sufficient to turn our already bleeding economy around and save workers from the pain of sk...

   Spotlight : South African Lockdown The latest data on  COVID-19  infections to be released this week is expected to guide government as it faces the tough balancing act of how long to keep the country on  lockdown .Scientists say they could use this data to determine the community transmission rate during the home confinement period.At least 2,272 people tested positive for COVID-19 so far. These patients were infected in the days before the lockdown.Government’s top coronavirus adviser, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, said on Monday the figures released over the next week would be crucial.Karim said government’s next step to slow down the spread of the pandemic would be based on the community transmission rate. “So, by 18 April, we will know if community transmission and whether our interpretation of community transmission has been kept low and if it’s accurate,” he said.Karim said should the lockdown come to an end, a voluntary home confine...

Spotlight: University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg's interim SRC wants the institution to suspend online learning and teaching during the  lockdown . The university plans to begin online activities on Monday b ut the SRC has said many students do not have access to devices or the internet. It also says many students live in conditions not conducive to learning. The council says this will lead to poor performance and academic exclusion. It proposes that either the winter recess be shortened or the September break cancelled. The university has responded to the concerns raised by the interim SRC, saying they have been carefully considered by the relevant structures of the university management. "These are difficult times for us all and many of our students are anxious about what is going to happen to their studies, whether they will graduate on time and so on. It is therefore vital that we embrace remote teaching and learning to help us...

Police Minister Bheki Cele has come out guns blazing against mounting calls for government to allow the sale of alcohol during the lockdown. Cele said it is wrong to make alcohol the centre of the debate when people are losing their lives due to COVID-19, calling people who want the ban of the sale of alcohol to be lifted as not being “serious” about life. “The figures we got this morning from the United States this morning (Saturday) is that more than 2 000 people died of COVID-19 in a single day in that country,” Cele said. “We all agree that the broader economy is suffering, people are losing jobs and there will be liquidations. So alcohol can not be the centre of complaints when we are facing a serious problem.” The Beer Association of South Africa has submitted their proposals to open up taverns to government. Amongst the organisation’s proposal is that government allow taverns to open as takeaway outlets and also allow the online sale of alcohol. The EFF ...

DJ Shimza has had a really bad weekend. Twitter wants to cancel him after he was rude to an upcoming DJ who wanted to feature on his lockdown virtual session.  He apologized but many South Africans did not accept his apology and want him to sorry properly.  We learned that #Shimzamustfall was trending on Twitter and he has not felt the love from the people.  However, all is not lost, some people have stood up to defend Shimza, one of them is none other than EFF leader Julius Malema. Some people are not too happy with the CIC standing up for Shimza. We have learned  that the DJ who was rejected by Shimza has landed a gig with Black Coffee after the international DJ gave him a chance. DJ Black Coffee has come through for a struggling Mzansi DJ in a big way after he got snubbed by Shimza.

Spotlight : Patrice Motsepe Patrice Motsepe is the man of the hour, stepping up when he is needed to most. He joined Oppenheimer and Rupert family with his own donation of R1-billion to help fight the coronavirus.  The billionaire said the coronavirus is very serious and commended the state for the effort it has undertaken to combat the pandemic. However, he feels more serious measures need to be implemented.  We learned that the funds will be channelled into purchasing soap, sanitizer, water and other essential items needed during the lockdown period.  South Africa reacted to the enormous generosity of Patrice Motsepe in this time of great need.  https://twitter.com/mmodiba10/status/1243856936006815745?s=20 https://twitter.com/2019AFRICA/status/1243854386041892864?s=20 https://twitter.com/Amza_5/status/1243876979256025088?s=20