[South Africa] President and his cabinet donate salaries to coronavirus fund

South Africa’s President and members of his cabinet have agreed to donate a third of their salaries as a gesture of solidarity to support the country’s coronavirus fund, Africa News reports.

The donations are only a small part of a series of strategic measures taken to fight the pandemic. With close to 2000 confirmed cases, South Africa is the most heavily impacted country on the African continent.

Speaking at an address in early April - during which he also announced a two-week extension of the lockdown - President Ramaphosa urged citizens to unite in the war against COVID-19.

“In support of this effort, we have decided that the President, the Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers will each take a one-third cut in their salaries for the next three months. This portion of their salaries will be donated to the Solidarity Fund.”

The President - who currently serves as president of the African Union - also called on African leaders to consolidate efforts to combat the virus.

“Over the past two weeks, I have been speaking to other African leaders about a coordinated Africa continental effort to combat the coronavirus and support our people and our economies. “

South Africa is statistically the worst-affected country on the continent but its figures come from a mass testing program which has overseen 60,000 tests performed, as opposed to countries with less than 5,000 test carried out to date.

The phenomenon of top officials donating their salaries to fight the pandemic is not unique on the continent. Nigerian lawmakers, Kenya’s top government officials and, most recently, Malawi’s cabinet have all replicated the gesture. And Rwanda’s cabinet and top government officials announced a similar measure regarding their salaries for April. (Link via original reporting)

South Africa’s President and members of his cabinet have agreed to donate a third of their salaries as a gesture of solidarity to support the country’s coronavirus fund, Africa News reports.

The donations are only a small part of a series of strategic measures taken to fight the pandemic. With close to 2000 confirmed cases, South Africa is the most heavily impacted country on the African continent.

Speaking at an address in early April - during which he also announced a two-week extension of the lockdown - President Ramaphosa urged citizens to unite in the war against COVID-19.

“In support of this effort, we have decided that the President, the Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers will each take a one-third cut in their salaries for the next three months. This portion of their salaries will be donated to the Solidarity Fund.”

The President - who currently serves as president of the African Union - also called on African leaders to consolidate efforts to combat the virus.

“Over the past two weeks, I have been speaking to other African leaders about a coordinated Africa continental effort to combat the coronavirus and support our people and our economies. “

South Africa is statistically the worst-affected country on the continent but its figures come from a mass testing program which has overseen 60,000 tests performed, as opposed to countries with less than 5,000 test carried out to date.

The phenomenon of top officials donating their salaries to fight the pandemic is not unique on the continent. Nigerian lawmakers, Kenya’s top government officials and, most recently, Malawi’s cabinet have all replicated the gesture. And Rwanda’s cabinet and top government officials announced a similar measure regarding their salaries for April. (Link via original reporting)