From the Editor’s desk

A country in lockdown

COVID-19 has brought South Africa to standstill – and it seems that our way of working will forever be altered

Editor and Publisher Mark Pettipher

OECD Interim Economic Assessment Coronavirus: The world economy at risk 2 March 2020

By the time you read this, we will be a third of the way through the threeweek national lockdown. Staying at home will be our routine, and essential provisions will hopefully be holding out. As the South African Property Review team, we are still very much business as usual – and still looking for novel ways of bringing you the relevant information about the goings-on in the commercial property industry.

Being a bi-monthly publication gives us a little more time to get to the crux of matters. For example, we’ve doubled up on our regional report this edition, covering both Mpumalanga and Polokwane in our “tale of two cities”. The Polokwane interviews were carried out face to face with SAPOA members prior to the travel restrictions; Mpumalanga was done digitally, utilising Zoom as a communication platform. And it went off without a hitch, although with a certain amount of excitement – the excitement of using the latest technology and paving the way for easier inter-personal connections going forward.

Technology was also used to cover the Western Cape’s first cyber-networking event with Dr Crispian Olver. We recorded his Zoom presentation, edited in his slides, and uploaded the entire offering to the South African Property Review YouTube channel. We’ve also embedded it on the report-back page in this issue. As we develop more of these presentations, we will make more of them readily available to SAPOA members.

One of our key topics in this edition is finance, despite the fact that the February Budget Speech by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has almost been forgotten amid the novel coronavirus outbreak and South Africa’s 21-day lockdown. (There seems to be an almost biblical connection to the dates – as per Isaiah 26:20 – and the end date of the lockdown, 16 April aligning with the end of Passover.)

But we’re here to remind you what the Budget Speech presented to us. The plight that the South African economy is in will not have vanished when the pandemic is over – on the contrary, as our economy is directly linked to the world economy, we will undoubtedly feel the effects of the global slowdown.

CNBC reports that major institutions and banks have cut their forecasts for the global economy, as has the OECD.

One thing is certain: as we emerge from the pandemic, life as we know it will be forever changed – and the way that we communicate and do business will change along with it. Technology will play a greater part in all aspects – and here at Property Review we’re already embracing it. Stay safe and enjoy the read. We look forward to keeping in touch digitally!