New author thirsts for global stage
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday June 12, 2020 12:20
Coronavirus also known as COVID-19 has negatively affected many countries across the globe. Botswana is amongst such countries, more especially in the business sector.
Th negative effects suffered by the countries inspired Malunga to write a book titled The COVID-19 Catalyst that gives the business community tips and approaches to, and in the new normal, with a focus on business revitalisation, resuscitation and sustainability in the face of COVID-19 crisis.
In an interview with this new author, he said the book presents and analyses the business side of events around the Coronavirus in Botswana and the world over, with insights from employment, work place, exit strategy and a lot more.
He also noted that while in the chokehold of the aftershocks of the virus, companies and countries have to plan ahead and have a dialogue on how to save themselves and the citizens from the pandemic because everyone is caught up in the nightmare.
“People will argue that in national crises, a country requires strong, stable leadership more than ever. That is true as witnessed by events that unfolded since the announcement of the outbreak of the virus in January until the opening of the economy. Botswana`s leadership has been decisive and agile in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, both on the health and business front,” he said.
“Life in business post the lockdown and even when the virus has ebbed away, will never be easily restored. Nor will it be in any other sphere of human life. In January 2020, the world woke up to the announcement of the Coronavirus outbreak. And suddenly, the world froze, everything stopped as if a remote button had been pressed. Following that announcement, the world has been turned upside down, with strategic challenges such as crushed investments and cash flows, shutdowns and eventual lockdowns across the globe,” he explained. Malunga added that the threat of the virus was still extremely high, saying the world is on alert mode.
He however stated that Botswana, like other economies, had not allowed the pandemic to hold businesses hostage. He said that resulted to the world seeing rapid growth of uncertainty as some of the markets may struggle to comeback as well as stock exchanges crashing, if they had not done that yet. He highlighted that COVID-19 brought fear to countries afraid of a collapse of their economies if there are further delays in opening up for trade. This newly established author further explained that some countries could fall into recession while others face the prospect of a deep depression, such as the USA, UK, Italy, Spain and possibly, South Africa.
However, Malunga explained that countries and companies alike could adapt on reopening the economies and adopt strategies that assist to pursue a recovery pathway. “An ideal pathway would be one that is cost effective and can be achieved through some roadmap that is all inclusive and progressive and is aligned to policy priorities. It’s worth noting the difficulty of determining the option to take and the suitable or appropriate policies to adopt for a country in a particular situation, when in a rush such as the one necessitated by the Coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
Malunga also stated that the decision required careful thought and a fact based cost benefit approach, to address a number of broader issues such as relief funds for small businesses, food relief packages for needy citizens, salary relief for employees and the need for health supplies equipment and management of the disease, which governments seem not to have the luxury of undertaking due to the pressure and urgency.
He pointed out that the strategic challenges which are currently facing governments and in the future include, amongst the many, preventing the overshoot of the coronavirus as spreading would spell doom for both human life and the economy, which needs a delicate balance and thorough thought and agility.
The book has six chapters and 181 pages. It was published by City Sky Consult (Pty) Ltd and was printed at Brew Print. The few printed copies are available at Botswana National Library Services. The book will also be available at various bookshops across the country soon.