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Pretoria – The Institute of Risk Management South Africa (Irmsa) has warned of \u201cpossible dire economic consequences\u201d from the planned national shutdown set to take place across South Africa on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Irmsa chief executive, Pat Semenya, said the envisaged national shutdown featuring the country\u2019s biggest trade union federations would have a detrimental effect on the already weak economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we respect workers\u2019 dissatisfaction with the government, the planned national shutdown will only further destabilise the country\u2019s already fragile economy,\u201d said Semenya.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all aware of the failures of the South African government. What will this strike achieve beyond stalling our economic recovery?\u201d<\/p>\n
Crippling protest action has been announced by two of South Africa\u2019s most prominent trade union federations \u2013 the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and Cosatu as they rally against the rising fuel and food prices tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Semenya said Irmsa\u2019s 2022 Risk Report had previously pointed to the damage that strike action can cause to South Africa\u2019s reputation as the \u201cGateway into Africa\u201d, listing possible consequences as \u201cfurther economic irrelevance, loss of foreign investment and revenue earning capability.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Semenya said Irmsa supports the right to strike, she said her organisation was concerned about the \u201cdamaging effects\u201d as a consequence to the national economy.<\/p>\n
Semenya added that South Africa could not afford to deter foreign investment at this stage, which has the potential of degenerating the nation into \u201ccomplete economic collapse and decline into a failed state\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplete economic collapse is a very real threat to our country, and we\u2019re teetering on the edge of becoming a failed state. If this happens, the reasons given for this (protest) action \u2013load shedding, high cost of living and increased fuel prices, among others \u2013 will only be made worse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Thousands of workers affiliated to Cosatu and Saftu will on Wednesday down their tools and join the national strike against what they believe is impending economic collapse.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pretoria – The Institute of Risk Management South Africa (Irmsa) has warned of \u201cpossible dire economic consequences\u201d from the planned national shutdown set to take place across South Africa on Wednesday. Irmsa chief executive, Pat Semenya, said the envisaged national shutdown featuring the country\u2019s biggest trade union federations would have a detrimental effect on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[5464,5037,12846,4889,4065,11535,807,3668],"class_list":["post-132426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-economy","tag-hurt","tag-irmsa","tag-national","tag-protests","tag-shutdown","tag-warns","tag-weak"],"yoast_head":"\n