Prioritising humanitarian crisis essential to keeping food on the table

South Africa’s underlying social and economic problems have been exacerbated due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, namely economic recessions, the rand collapsing, poverty and unemployment.

And despite government’s commendable public and economic health responses to the pandemic, the country’s social and economic sectors need a more vocal and transparent response to assist those in need, explained South African/UK research chair in social protection for food security, Professor Stephen Devereaux.

South Africa’s government has received international praise for how effectively the country has managed to largely contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but Devereaux said there is a danger in leading us to think we’ve beat the virus.

And we are far from doing this.

Even after lockdown is lifted and what semblance of normality resumes, South Africa’s normal will not be the same as before.

The economic and social consequences of the virus will be felt for the foreseeable future. While business struggles along with a weak rand and uncertainty surrounding life in the midst of a pandemic, the informal sector is ailing even more than before, as millions of people suddenly have no way to earn an income, and unregistered workers have no way of getting some compensation to put food on the table.

Informal sector falling through the cracks

Devereaux explained that the informal sector always falls through the cracks of any humanitarian crisis, and that these workers are arguably the most vulnerable group in the country at present.

“People who are poor get social assistance, but the informal sector falls through the cracks. Some workers can apply for temporary UIF, like farm workers who work seasonally, but at the moment, workers have no access to funds as labour centres are closed.

“Others with no work are sitting at home with no protection,” he explained.

Workers that are stuck in the middle are those who have not registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and often have no formal contracts with their employees. Examples of these marginalised people include domestic workers, gardeners, car guards and informal traders.

Lockdown has made it virtually impossible for informal workers to earn any income.

Devereaux said despite some workers having access to social grants through dependents, this money was not intended for working adults. It is more for the old, the young and the disabled, which means social grants are now diluted.

One way to assist adults who until recently were still working and earning an income, is to increase social grants.

Devereaux suggested that this would be the easiest way to get money to a large number of people, as extra grant money can easily be provided to those in need, and does not require a new application process as it would use a system that already exists.

“The real problem is political will from government,” he lamented.

This is understandable, to an extent – raising the amount of grants received would be expensive, and government’s kitty is already stretched dangerously thin.

However, government’s response to the public health crisis and trying to bolster the economy has been timeous and effective. This is not the time for government to sit back and hope NGOs pick up the humanitarian consequences of lockdown, he explained.

The trade-off

The pandemic requires one of two responses – if lockdown is extended, this will cause an even greater humanitarian and economic crisis. However, if lockdown is lifted, infections will most likely increase, putting even more pressure on the health system.

“Government’s reluctance in increasing grants is because they know the economic impact of the lockdown is very serious, made worse by a weak rand and unemployment. Available funds are shrinking,” Devereaux said.

While government deliberates extending lockdown, Devereaux said that greater transparency is required in terms of reporting on the support received.

Figures cannot simply be thrown around, people need to know what the country’s, the Solidarity Funds’, and UIF’s funds are being spent on.

The country requires an more immediate and intense social response, and should hear more from economic and social sectors, Devereaux said.

Ethics vs practicality

The plight of informal workers, and the worries that accompany their insecurity and uncertainty, should ideally spur on some sort of citizen solidarity.

“Employers have a responsibility – we should look after the people who looked after us, and we need to continue paying them. That is our responsibility.”

However, responsibility does not guarantee that informal workers will continue to be paid. This is an opportunity for the State to assist in registering unregistered workers.

But there is another way.

Devereaux points to employers unable to pay full salaries to their workers being able to register their employees to help them earn some money through the UIF’s Covid-19 temporary employer-employee relief scheme (Covid-19 Ters).

However, employers that have tried to apply for Covid-Ters claim it is a frustrating process, with Moneyweb reporting that the payouts are slow-going, confusing and time consuming.

Less than 10% of the UIF’s R40 billion funds has been spent. And these funds need to become more accessible to workers in the informal sector, he emphasised.

Devereaux is also concerned that not enough employers know about Covid-19 Ters, and will therefore not pay their workers at all during lockdown.

He suggested urgent information campaigns to educate people on how to help their struggling employees.

What can SA do to guarantee food security amid the pandemic?

Devereaux said a shock-responsive social protection approach is the best approach to guarantee that society is protected during the pandemic.

“It is quick, there is no administrative complexity, and it is temporary, and can be re-adjusted after the pandemic.”

Authorities have the unenviable task of having to be two steps ahead of a pandemic that has baffled virtually every sector in every country around the world.

The crisis operates on three levels, Devereaux said. The immediate crisis had to do with public health, which was dealt with well by government.

However, prioritising the health crisis, essential to curbing the amount of infections, resulted in a lockdown and subsequent extension, which caused an economic crisis.

The economic crisis then created a humanitarian crisis, and although the public health response was a necessary evil, it definitely had a knock-on effect that worsened the current humanitarian crisis.

But the pandemic has left even the most knowledgable authorities, such as the World Food Programme (WFP) scrambling for answers to the correct approach, in an effort to mitigate a nutritional food shortage in developing nations.

WFP Chief Economist Arif Husain admitted that too much is known to provide an accurate assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on the economy at the moment.

It is a complicated conundrum developing nations find themselves in.

Being less able to pour funds into mitigating negative consequences of the pandemic means vulnerable people will be more exposed, and malnutrition adds to the list of woes.

Encouragingly, UNCTAD explains that as long as major food-exporting countries continue to honour their commitment to World Trade Organisation rules, this will at least ensure that food products continue to flow in and out of the country, decreasing the possibility of food insecurity.

But countries that rely heavily on food aid may not be so lucky. And unfortunately, we do not know how severe the impacts will be on countries that struggled before the pandemic.

Husain and Devereaux both point to the economic consequences of the pandemic harming more people, especially in the long term, than Covid-19.

What happens after lockdown?

Right now, in addition to the burden of government deliberating a lockdown extension, authorities need to implement strategies to nip negative economic consequences in the bud.

The country needs to start planning for the aftermath now, using creative thinking, otherwise unemployment will increase even more.

“We need to bounce back quickly, and government needs to provide,” Devereaux said.

If we do not do this, the economic and social consequences of Covid-19 will be far worse.

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