BMW, JPMorgan urge UK to ease Covid limits on Southern Africa
Dozens of companies appealed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ease restrictions on travel from southern Africa that are hampering trade.
The limits on movement are jeopardising the competitive advantage the UK has, which stem from its historical, cultural and economic links with Africa, the businesses said in a letter sent Monday by lobby group Business Leadership South Africa. The South African units of companies including BMW, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Old Mutual and TotalEnergies were among the signatories.
“As Britain looks to develop new trading relationships around the world, we would urge you to reassess the restrictions placed on southern Africa, which frustrate trade and impact the life chances of millions of people who depend on travel for business, education, sport, and cultural exchange,” they said.
The letter adds to pleas by the South African government and South Africans living in the UK urging Johnson’s administration to remove the country from its travel red list, which requires visitors from that nation to stay in quarantine for ten days and undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing.
South Africa’s tourism industry, which contributes about 4% to gross domestic product, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. The sector has been hard-hit by travel restrictions imposed by countries including the UK that are its main source markets. Statistics South Africa reported in April that foreign arrivals dropped by 71% between 2019 and 2020.
Other Southern African countries on the UK’s red list include Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation