The past week has arguably delivered one of the biggest changes during the ongoing lockdown with Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel gazetting new directions on 14 May 2020, allowing for the complete re-opening of e-commerce sales. The change does however not come without some restrictions, as retailers will continuingly not be allowed to sell tobacco and liquor.
Despite South Africa being one of the only countries to shut down it’s online trading during a lockdown period, apart from retailers being able to sell essential goods, the change in online trading has been well received by many consumers and retailers alike.
The directions describe e-commerce as being a “critical enabler to opening the economy through contactless transactions” as the government attempts to ease ongoing restrictions while limiting the spread of the coronavirus. Although the change is significant, it remains the government’s priority to limit the extent of movement on public roads, prevent contact between people and reduce the impact on the economy.
The structure of the directions includes three main role players in e-commerce trading, namely: retailers, courier/delivery services and consumers. It sets out various mandatory protocols aimed directly at these categories in order to ensure a smooth transition through the lockdown restriction levels.
Firstly, e-commerce retailers are obligated to ensure that adequate face masks and sanitizer is provided to its employees, and most importantly that designated and trained health and safety officers are appointed in every business, with the task of taking and recording all retail employees’ temperatures every four hours. The directions attempt to limit the social and economic hardships caused by the lockdown by indicating that prominence must be given to those goods which are manufactured in the Republic of South Africa, and retailers must ensure that consumers have clear choices to support local producers.
Secondly, couriers and/or delivery services in the e-commerce sector must ensure that, as in the case of retail employees, designated and trained health and safety officers are appointed with the task of taking and recording each delivery personnel’s temperature, every four hours. All employees must be provided with their own hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, which needs to be refilled on a daily basis. The delivery services are furthermore obligated to ensure that all delivery personnel continues to practice strict social distancing in light of the fact that the virus is most likely to be spread by this category of e-commerce personnel. This means that when collecting, or delivering goods, all delivery personnel must ensure to keep at least one and a half metres distance between both the retail employees, as well as the consumers at which they deliver a package.
Finally, delivery personnel are obligated to refuse to complete any delivery should a consumer fail to wear a mask during the exchange and delivery. Consumers should therefore always practice reasonable social distancing and remember to sanitize every package they receive.
Although millions of South Africans will more than likely be eager to start shopping online and revert back to their old spending habits, the directions by minister Patel are promising in the sense of attempting to safeguard every South African’s wellbeing, promote personal hygiene and to jumpstart our already struggling economy. Only time will tell the effectiveness of the directions through South Africa’s acceptance of the “new normal” it is unwillingly living in. It’s like Maya Angelou once said, “You may not be able to control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Janus Myburgh obtained his LLB degree at the North-West University in Potchefstroom. He is an admitted attorney and currently a legal advisor of SEESA Labour at Head Office in Pretoria. He joined SEESA during 2020.