Six ways COVID-19 is changing South Africa GUY OLIVER NO COUNTRY escapes coronavirus unscathed, but South Africa seems to have done better than most – despite dire predictions that African countries are a “ticking time bomb” of COVID-19 devastation. President Cyril Ramaphosa has won international praise for a generally sure-footed response, and, after years of bad news, the country is experiencing a tentative feel-good bloom over its ability to pull together. South Africa has recorded over 80 412 positive coronavirus cases, with over 1674 deaths. On 1 June, the government eased what have been fierce lockdown measures, despite some criticism this…

FUMIGATE: A member of the Nigerian Health Task Force fumigates a building in Abuja, Nigeria, as the city struggles to curb the spread of coronavirus. Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images   Chuku Chuku The curve of the coronavirus pandemic started to bend upwards in Africa only recently – just as the curve in the 10 most-affected countries around the world was flattening. Policymakers in Africa must now absorb lessons from the experiences of other countries and avoid policy mistakes. Most importantly they need to implement a COVID-19 policy manifesto that is capable of inoculating African economies from the…

ISSAHAKU ADAM Senior Lecturer, Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Cape Coast ALBERT N. KIMBU Senior Lecturer in Hospitality & Tourism, University of Surrey TOURISM has become an important economic sector for most African countries in the last two decades. There has been increased investments in product development and enhancement, aggressive marketing, coupled with appropriate business-friendly socio-political reforms. The World Bank reports that one in 20 jobs in sub-Saharan Africa is in the travel and tourism sector. The United World Tourism Organisation estimated that about 67 million international tourists visited Africa in 2018, generating about US$38 billion for the continent. The…