President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on global leaders to put people and their welfare at the centre of efforts aimed at recovering from Covid-19, saying the pandemic will avail an opportunity for greater economic security, equal opportunity and social justice.
He said as countries strive to recover from the outbreak their actions must be guided by the spirit of solidarity and must make sure no-one is left behind.
“As we collectively look to the future, we have an immense task before us to rebuild our shattered lives and economies,” Ramaphosa said, during an address at the virtual International Labour Organisation (ILO) global summit on Covid-19 on Wednesday.
The ILO is a UN agency that deals with social justice and sets international labour standards. Its International Labour Conference, an annual gathering of governments, labour and business to deliberate on issues of mutual interest, was postponed in April due to coronavirus, marking the first time it cancelled a conference in its 101 years of existence.
Ramaphosa was appointed in 2018 as the co-chair of the ILO’s Global Commission on the Future of Work alongside Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated the pace and profoundly affected the nature of technological advances, demographic shifts and environmental change on the world of work.
“Covid-19 has left no aspect of human existence untouched, from health to security, from social systems to economies and livelihoods,” Ramaphosa said.
“Now, as never before, we are being called upon as the international community to hasten our efforts in giving effect to the provisions of the centenary declaration. We have to protect working people against the rising tide of unemployment through universal social protection.”
The international community needed to invest in people’s capabilities, in skills development, in lifelong learning, in workplace inclusivity and in advancing gender equality.
“Above all, we have to transform our domestic policy frameworks to support the creation of decent and sustainable work.”
Ramaphosa, who chairs the AU (AU), said the continent had so far had lower infection rates compared to other parts of the world. However, because of weak health systems, resource constraints and pre-existing economic vulnerabilities, “the long-term impact of the pandemic on Africa will be severe”.
The AU has established an AU Covid-19 response fund to assist member states in funding an effective response against the pandemic, which has raced around the world putting financial markets into a tailspin, disrupted global trade and killing hundreds of thousands of people.
In June, Ramaphosa launched the AU's Africa medical supplies platform, a single continental marketplace that allows African countries to access critical medical supplies in a manner that is faster and more competitively priced.
“We are also engaged with international partners and institutions to mobilise a substantial stimulus package to assist African countries to rebuild their economies,” said Ramaphosa.
The president said the coronavirus pandemic had put the whole world in the midst of what he called an unprecedented global crisis, noting, however, that within it lay the opportunity to deliver greater economic security, among other things.
“As we strive to recover from this pandemic, let us continue to be guided by the spirit of solidarity and ensure that we put people and their welfare at the centre of all our efforts, and most importantly that all our responses to this pandemic leaves no-one behind.”
mkentanel@businesslive.co.za
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