Page 66 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 6
P. 66
ECONOMY
omething that keeps quired them to keep working. agriculture, telecommunica-
popping its head up Capitalism is entirely dependent tion, BPO, consulting services,
from time to time, is on workers to generate prod- petroleum, construction, trans-
Sthe effect this Coro- ucts and services and the mar- portation, logistics, real estate,
na Virus quarantine and lock kets in which to trade these for events etc. Right now, most
down is having or going to have money. It must have sellers and countries have already gone
on global economies and the buyers who create the requisite into self-preservation mode
economy of Afrika as a whole. supply-demand tension to gen- and because the resources
In the face of the slowdown erate sales which in turn allow in people’s hands are scarce,
in commercial activity world- loan repayments to financial whatever is being spent is being
wide, the Capitalist system institutions and payouts to the used to secure items deemed to
has, yet again, been put under government in the form of tax- be of greatest necessity. Busi-
the microscope. When faced es, which are then used to run nesses which were not robust
with business closures, selec- countries and the global econ- enough to withstand the shock
tive sales of goods, increased omy. With the requirement for of the global shutdown and
manufacturing of health and traders and workers to cease were not recipients of any form
Covid-19 related medical prod- their primary activities, econo- of financial stimulus have either
ucts and income generation in mies around the world are ex- reduced salaries or terminated
a time of isolation, one of the periencing a downturn because workers that they can no longer
first things that the US did for its production and demand are sustain. Airlines, hotels and
businesses was to approve a down, therefore the necessary restaurants were the first to pay
financial stimulus package. This revenues cannot be generated the price as global travel was
was intended to protect Amer- from regular trading activities. restricted very early on, with
ican businesses and prevent Farmers, for instance, are either the exception of cargo flights
job losses during the quarantine destroying their outputs, plow- and hotel facilities being used
period. However, the US is still ing them back into their farms as quarantine centers. ‘Rich’
seeing large numbers of people or re-purposing them into other countries have even suspended
apply for unemployment bene- products with longer shelf lives. loan repayments from ‘poor’
fits and many have questioned Much of what is being produced countries for the moment.
whether these large businesses is either going to waste or being This whole impending economic
which were the recipients of the sold at prices that neither favor crisis is only a crisis because
stimulus, will actually be faith- the seller nor give regard to the world prioritized foolish
ful to the intent of the release his or her cost of inputs. I read things over necessities. As
of the USD 1T. According to somewhere that in the US there people sit in their houses, their
a Reuters article, UN Secre- are situations where there is cars sit outside, idle; as pastors
tary-General, Antonio Guterres surplus of food in one area of remain cloistered in their man-
is already calling on leaders to the country and lack in another sions, their jets remain parked
“do everything in their power but the surplus will go to waste in hangars; as people’s move-
to cushion the impact of the because of supply chain issues. ments are restricted, holiday
pandemic” and the UN warns of In short, Capitalism cannot homes remain empty and huge
the “economic hardship experi- survive a long-term shutdown, shopping malls, office complex-
enced by families as a result of which is why many govern- es and factories lie silent or at
the global economic downturn” ments are looking for ways to much lower capacity; as public
that they say could result in the reopen quickly, because this gatherings are prohibited, cost-
additional deaths of hundreds of crisis is more than likely to ly, fancy garments gather dust
thousands of children. In Afrika, drag down several economies in wardrobes and politicians’
not every country went in the around the world with it. Thanks helicopters remain grounded.
direction of a total lock down to globalization, most econo- From the king to the beggar, all
because they are simply unable mies are inter-linked and every people have finally realized that
to sustain their people who are single sector is affected: bank- they all have something in com-
largely low-income earners, ing and finance, health, man- mon: simple needs for clean
many of them dependent on ufacturing, travel and tourism, fresh water, clean fresh air,
a daily wage and therefore re- education, food production and clean fresh and healthy food,
66 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
