President Cyril Ramaphosa is meeting with leaders of political parties represented in Parliament this morning as part of a consultation to move the country from level 4 of the lockdown to level 3.
The virtual meeting comes as pressure mounted on government to open more parts of the economy amid reports of companies closing and jobs being shed.
Last week, Ramaphosa charged that his government would follow the same process of consultation with leaders of different sectors in society as was the case when government declared a state of disaster on March 15 and the subsequen lockdown that came into effect at midnight on March 26.
The DA has been leading the charge against the lockdown, saying it was choking the country’s economy.
“The President has held a series of meetings and consultation with leaders across various sectors of society since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that the national effort to combat the crisis is inclusive and enjoys the support of all stakeholder groups,” a statement from the presidency reads.
Last Friday, Ramaphosa met with leaders of trade unions and business at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
This, as the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus, rose to 17 200 last night. The Northern Cape yesterday recorded its first death related to the virus, bringing the total to 312.
The Western Cape continued to lead the way in terms of the most number of infections and deaths, with 10 639 cases and 187 deaths, followed by Gauteng (2361 cases, 27 deaths) and the Eastern Cape third with 2135 cases and 41 deaths.
Gauteng premier David Makhura and his Western Cape counterpart, Alan Winde, have both announced that their provinces were ready for level 3 of the lockdown. Western Cape accounts for 61,9 percent of the total number of cases while Gauteng has 13,7 percent of cases.
