City welcomes the unbanning of unfettered e-commerce

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

I welcome the announcement  that e-commerce will be allowed as this offers a lifeline to a bleeding economy.

On Wednesday I wrote 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.

I welcome the confirmation and the gazetting of the regulations that will govern e-commerce. See the regulations attached and I encourage businesses to read and adhere to these regulations.

E-commerce will assist in containing the spread of the coronavirus as people will now be allowed to order the goods they need from the safety of their homes and will naturally decrease the number of people in shops.

The sector contributes greatly to economic growth directly through sales and also supports a wide range of upstream suppliers and industries.

This is a first step in reviving our economy, which is reeling from the measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19.

By embracing technology and e-commerce, I am hopeful that more business will be able to pivot their businesses and operate online to help us get through the worst of this crisis.