OPINION

Excluding SMMEs with pre-existing financial challenges from financial assistance is like banning people with comorbidities from healthcare, says Mncedisi Xego. The fact that the precarious financial health of SMMEs could be caused by a lack of access to finance or late payments from clients, appears irrelevant.  The exclusion of struggling businesses from Covid-19 relief funds appears…

The Eastern Cape health system has been in a shambles for years and is now being ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Lizeka Tandwa.Despondency, desperation, fear and hopelessness are etched on the faces of patients in many Eastern Cape hospitals.It's become so normal that even the local media doesn't document it anymore. This is the…

Covid-19 has introduced us to some interesting things, including being able to purchase a coffin online, writes Howard Feldman. Because 2020 wasn't weird enough, South Africans are apparently now able to purchase coffins on popular retail site Takealot.The items sell for just under R5 000 per box and the company has stipulated that it will not…

We need each other to get through this pandemic, the writer argues (Phynart Studio/Getty Images) This writer, who asked to remain anonymous, writes that we will only weather the Covid-19 pandemic if we reach out to each other. It was 02:00 on Saturday morning when my phone beeped with the message that I'd been praying for:…

There is a need to find a middle ground when it comes to the statue debate, argues Motsaathebe Serekoane and Francis Petersen.The South African statue debate is back in the spotlight again, as statues deemed controversial or offensive come down in America and Europe during demonstrations against racism and police violence that have renewed attention on…