The COVID-19 virus pandemic has had devastating effects globally with large death tolls across Europe, the United States and China. South Africa has not been spared, with the President declaring a 21-day national lockdown from midnight 26th of March 2020—the lockdown has subsequently been extended, albeit eased to level four, according to government’s new phased approach. Most business operations have been shut down and only services classified as essential remain operational. Even though the government is establishing its new phased approach for exiting the lockdown, the economy has already been adversely affected, with significant negative consequences for the normal income of the average citizen and unavoidable job losses in the long run. This current scenario will have a severe impact on the operations and efficient functioning of municipalities.
RCA has analysed the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on municipalities. The RCA team focused on the different functions within a municipality and the probable impact that the pandemic will have on municipalities’ capacity to execute these functions. We also addresse all the identified negative outcomes and offer RCA-based solutions that are responsive to each anticipated scenario.
The RCA team investigated the the following key areas: