The lockdown began at midnight, on Thursday, March 26, and continues until April 16.
Ramaphosa decreed that all shops and businesses close down during the lockdown period, except for pharmacies, laboratories, banks, supermarkets, petrol stations and health-care providers.
The Advertiser spoke to several business owners around Boksburg, who said the lockdown will harm their businesses even after the 21 days have ended.
Johan Snyman, who owns a second-hand car dealership in Rietfontein Road, said: “Even after the 21 days it’s still going to be hard to pick up where we left off because of the economy. People won’t start buying things, because they will have debts to cover.
“I think it will take us a year to come out of this economic strain.”
However, Snyman believes that had the president not called for a lockdown, more people would have been infected with the coronavirus in the long run.
“During the 21 days, I’ll use the savings that I have to survive, but we can never recover lost time or the money that we’ve lost,” Snyman said.
Another affected local vendor, Jemina Mhlanga, who has been selling vegetables in Cason Road for 21 years, said: “During the 21 days I don’t know how I’ll survive because I am a single mother and I survive by selling vegetables.
“To ensure that my stock doesn’t rot during the 21 days, I have started selling vegetables in bulk at a cheaper price. I think it was a wise decision that the president took, but he should have thought about us,” Mhlanga said.
Imraan Bhula, the owner of Bargain Spot, a second-hand furniture shop that has been based in Cason Road for 27 years, said he hopes the lockdown will end before April 16.
“If the lockdown extends, how are we going to continue to trade? We have rent to pay, families to feed and employees to pay. The economy itself, apart from the Covid-19 issue, is already in a recession, so now things have gone from bad to worse.
“I feel that the president should have allowed us to trade a half day every day, instead of 9am to 5pm. He should have said at least said from 9am to 1pm,” Bhula said.
A tavern owner from Ramaphosa, known as Stability, and Sibusisiwe Moyo, who owns a hair salon in Cason, agreed that instead of shutting down trade, the president should have allowed them to trade during certain hours.
