CORONAVIRUS DAILY DIGEST #79
Santaco says taxi strike ‘regrettable’, and school feeding schemes to restart in the Eastern Cape
On Monday, the South African National Taxi Council said the strike action in Gauteng was “regrettable”, but unavoidable. Meanwhile, Eastern Cape learners of all Grades were due to receive meals again from their schools’ feeding schemes. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has weighed in on insurance claims during the pandemic.
Swipe through the gallery below to view the latest Covid-19 numbers available on 22 June 2020 at the district level. All maps are sourced from provincial health departments. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape did not provide an update by the time of publishing:
Thousands of minibus taxi operators took part in a strike in Gauteng on Monday, 22 June, which left commuters scrambling to find other ways to get to work. The strike was organised by the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) after it rejected the R1.135-billion offered by government as insufficient to meaningfully help individual taxi operators.
Santaco said the strike was “regrettable” and condemned reported incidents of commuters being hauled from other means of transport. As Bheki C Simelane and Chane Retief report, the union is due to meet Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula later this week.
As of 22 June, Eastern Cape learners in all Grades will start receiving meals from the provincial education department’s school nutrition programme. As Ayanda Mthethwa reports, the almost two million learners will receive either a takeaway or cooked meal from their school. This comes after civil society organisations SECTION27 and the Equal Education Law Centre asked the high court to compel the government to restart its national school nutrition programme fully.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has weighed in on whether businesses can claim business interruption insurance because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown. As Sasha Planting writes, its final call could provide relief for some, particularly in the hospitality industry.
Maverick Citizen has published the latest edition of its weekly feature, the Civil Society Watch, which highlights the week’s events organised by civil society organisations. Events are virtual and range from learners taking to the podium to discuss solutions to racism in schools to reflections on 65 years of the Freedom Charter by the likes of ANC veteran Ronnie Kasrils and environmental activist Tokelo Mahlakoane. DM/MC
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