Covid-19 has throttled South Africa’s economy

CHRISTINA MOTHIBA had always wanted to return home, but not like this. In 2006 she left Laaste Hoop, her village in Limpopo, South Africa’s most rural province, and moved in with her sister in Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub. It took four years but eventually she found a job, as a tea-lady in an office. In 2015 she was promoted to administrator. Her salary supported four others: a brother, her mother and two children. There was enough spare cash for a plot in Laaste Hoop. Ms Mothiba, who is 49, hoped to build a house on the land before she retired.Then came covid-19. “With this pandemic life is not what it was before,” says Ms Mothiba. She was laid off shortly after South Africa’s lockdown began on March 27th. There were no prospects and rent was due, so she went back to her mother’s house in Laaste Hoop. She has shelved her retirement plans and is focused solely on ensuring her family eats. “You can’t understand how stressed I am right now.”