Boks’ World Cup victory: Ramaphosa’s public holiday gets thumbs-down from economists

Many in Mzansi were disappointed to return to work on Monday as they’d hoped for a public holiday, following the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup victory.

This after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise that he’d declare a public holiday should the national rugby team win the World Cup.

Although Ramaphosa kept his word, his presidential gift of a day off came wrapped a little differently, scheduled nearly two months after the celebratory fever that is sweeping across South Africa.

ALSO READ: EFF rains on Ramaphosa’s public holiday parade after Boks victory

In case you’re sill wondering why the president didn’t deliver as quickly as he promised, here’s why:

Impulsive promise

Economist Dawie Roodt said Ramaphosa’s promise to declare a public holiday was impulsive.

“I don’t think it was a good idea to announce a public holiday, I think it was an impulsive comment – and now he’s stuck with it,” Roodt told The Citizen.

He said the economic implications of randomly declaring a public holiday would be costly, outweighing the benefit of a day off.

“The loss to production for the economy would be between R10 to R20 billion per day,” he said, adding that SA’s economy was already struggling.

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‘Wrong from an economic point of view‘

“Where are we going to draw the line? If someone wins a gold medal in the Olympics, are we going to declare another holiday?” Roodt asked.

“I think it’s wrong from an economic point of view,” he said.

The economist also said that employers and employees could decide among themselves whether to take time off to celebrate the Springboks’ victory.

“We don’t need politicians to tell us when we can take time off,” he said.

Roodt also said that a public holiday [15 December] will probably be just another “Braai Day” for South Africans.

While some businesses could benefit from a day of celebrations, the potential economic loss would be far greater.

“Small businesses and liquor outlets will probably gain from this, but in total the economy will be the bigger loser,” Roodt concluded.

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‘Struggling businesses can’t afford it‘

Echoing this view, independent economist Prof. Bonke Dumisa said Ramaphosa was too hasty when he made his promise.

“Public holidays are disruptive to the economy because most businesses, including banks and all public sector services, don’t operate on a public holiday,” Dumisa said.

He explained that declaring a holiday was unjustifiable, especially since the country is already devastated by the effects of load shedding.

Employers are also required to pay overtime for work done on a public holiday.

“Many struggling businesses cannot afford this,” he said.  

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa declares 15 December a public holiday to celebrate Springboks victory

Electioneering scam?

“15 December was strategically chosen as a convenient ‘escape route’ because it falls on a Friday that many businesses were [already prepared] to forgo,” said Dumisa.

He explained that most workers typically start their Christmas vacation on the newly declared “holiday”, since 16 December is already a public holiday.

With the national elections fast-approaching, South Africans are increasingly becoming skeptical of kind gestures from politicians.

“It’s a smart ‘electioneering’ political move to silence those who were ready to use this simple miscalculated ‘promise’ by President Ramaphosa as ‘proof of payment’ that he and/or the African National Congress (ANC) make promises they have no intention of delivering on,” he explained.

“By declaring a public holiday, albeit later, President Ramaphosa has proven that ‘he can be trusted’ on promises he makes personally,” he said.

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