In light of the stranglehold that the corona pandemic has on the South African economy, which was already in a serious crisis, the FF Plus welcomes the Reserve Bank's announcement that the interest rate will be reduced by one percentage point.
The reduction alone, however, does not offer sufficient relief and the FF Plus will request the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel, to consider implementing additional relief measures due to the detrimental effect that the corona crisis has on particularly small businesses.
The additional measures that the Minister announced today, for instance, that businesses' profit margins should remain the same as before the corona crisis, are welcomed.
Further additional measures are of the utmost importance to save businesses and individuals from financial ruin.
The FF Plus will request the Minister to urgently consider offering debt relief, after consultation with banks and other credit providers, by means of a so-called debt repayment holiday of four to six months in accordance with the powers he has due to the national state of disaster.
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