If you enjoyed your Easter weekend so much that you missed the latest scoop, grab a coffee and make yourself comfortable, friend. You’re going to want to hear this. Actuary Nick Hudson of PANDA (Pandemics – Data & Analytics) delivered a keynote address at last month’s BizNews Investment Conference titled, ‘The UGLY truth about the Covid-19 lockdowns‘. He disputes the effectiveness of nationwide shutdowns as well as mask mandates, saying they were “ruled out by pre-Covid science for good reasons. They have been tried; they have not worked and they have caused great harm”.
Instead of assisting to contain the spread of the virus, Hudson says the lockdown in South Africa caused infant mortality, poverty, starvation, joblessness, and an upsurge of psychological disorders.
South Africans are still reeling after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s 2021 Budget speech delivered to Parliament. Despite the really poor news being peppered with snippets of good, citizens are sceptical at best about what the ANC can achieve in the next year (and beyond).
Of the more upsetting announcements, we learnt the true cost of Covid-19. The pandemic (and its related lockdowns) has dealt the economy a devastating R230bn blow. Debt-to-GDP is now at 80% and SA’s unemployment rate is sitting at a whopping 32.5%. The successful 12J scheme has been scrapped, which not only helped start-ups but generated significant business growth as well.