It is nice that we have entered level 1 of lockdown, but six months of low key business activity will definitely have a huge impact on our economy. Perhaps healthcare workers experience slightly less pressure than in earlier stages of the pandemic, but
for others, the longer their businesses remain closed, the bigger the pressure.
Tourism industry
This week I spoke to people working in the tourism industry involved with international travel, and for them there is no going back to work yet, neither did they receive any remuneration during the past six months.
Fortunately, they said, they are still young, have no debt and they were able to stay with their parents during this time. But six months of their adult work life with the accompanying earnings and experience, just disappeared.
Yet, when you have a family to take care of and a house and motor vehicle to pay, it becomes really hard to keep your head above water. Many people have already left the tourism industry for something else.
How long?
The real economic question is how long it will take for the economy to recover to where it was before lockdown. We must remember that a good economy ensures that its citizens become wealthier over time. To achieve that
it is necessary for the economy to grow faster than the population.
Insult to injury
Unfortunately what happened during the Covid-19 lockdown is that the economy is predicted to decline more than 17% during this year while the population keeps growing. Strikes and all kinds of destructive demonstrations to not even talk about the enormous scale of corruption, is like adding insult to injury. We just cannot afford any more strikes. We need every one to produce more in order to curb the downward spiral. But do we have the will to turn the tide?
# Turning the tide
So, how do we go about to turn the tide?
First of all I believe we all need to have a mind-set to build and not destroy. It is very disheartening to the people who are willing to sacrifice hard work and long hours to rebuild the economy, when others go on strike and demand certain privileges they believe they are entitled to.
Privileges
No privileges fall from the clear blue sky; somebody work hard in order to make them available. When a student goes to university to study for a degree which may take three, four or even more years to complete, somebody pays for that privilege. If it comes from government funding, it is the taxpayers who pay, otherwise their parents or some organisation giving a bursary. It remains a privilege and not a right.
No free lunch
Economists will tell you that there is no such thing as a free lunch; somebody pays although it may not be you.
If that student then demand even more privileges because they believe they have the right to it, the people who pay, may just turn their backs and you may be left to your own mercy.
Therefore, let us all live with gratitude and each one build wherever we are. According to Ecc 3:3 there is “A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up.” If ever there was a time to heal and to build up, that time is right now.
Do you feel like that square peg in a round hole in your job or business and you don’t know why? If that is you, contact me for a Career Direct Assessment (available online) which will help you understand. It will not only show who you are, but will also point you in the right direction.
