City makes case for unfettered e-commerce to protect lives and livelihoods

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS.

I welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement last night that regulations around e-commerce would be relaxed under Level 4. However, the extent of this relaxation still needs to be confirmed. We will wait on the details over the coming days. I have written to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel, to set out a case for the unfettered operation of e-commerce in South Africa to keep our economy alive, to drive demand for goods and services that will make business sense, and for e-commerce to be allowed immediately as a lifeline to a bleeding economy.

Much has been said in the public domain regarding e-commerce, defined as buying and selling of goods or services using the internet and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.

Essentially, the case I have put to Minister Patel comes down to two simple reasons why e-commerce should be allowed.

The first being the containment of the spread of the coronavirus. E-commerce allows people to order the goods they need from the safety of their homes. This naturally decreases the number of people in shops and therefore decreases the possibility of contracting or spreading the virus.

The second reason is to keep our economy alive and our people employed. Technology is an enabling platform – for both business and citizens – as goods and services may be procured and offered via a multitude of devices. Businesses can find and service customers that they would not normally be able to reach.

The sector as a whole contributes greatly to economic growth directly through sales, but supports a wide range of upstream suppliers and industries. There is a vast network of supply chain, logistics and SMMEs who underpin e-commerce channels. We should be focussed on how to assist those who have not yet embraced online retail and not shut it down.

Ultimately, embracing technology and e-commerce is an inevitable progression for our economy which we will need to integrate and adapt to. In times like these, we should be looking to our innovators, including those in e-commerce, to help us get through the worst of this crisis and perhaps, even allow some to prosper from the opportunity that inevitably springs from any crisis.

The World Trade Organisation has fully endorsed the use of e-commerce by saying that ‘the pandemic has made it clear that e-commerce can be an important tool/solution for consumers. E-commerce can also support small businesses and, by making economies more competitive, be an economic driver for both domestic growth and international trade’.

E-commerce can be an ally in the battle against COVID-19, but only if it is allowed to operate.