- There are still some areas of confusion around exactly what services are essential and should remain operational during South Africa's national Covid-19 lockdown.
- As of Thursday, debt collection is no longer one of them. The government definitely does not want debt collectors to operate as normal during the state of disaster.
- So much so that finance minister Tito Mboweni is specifically barred by new regulations from allowing debt collectors to operate.
- For more stories go to the Business Insider South Africa homepage.
This article has been updated below.
A week into South Africa's Covid-19 lockdown there are still occasional arguments about exactly what is, and what is not, allowed, from cigarette sales to how many passengers minibus taxis may carry.
But as of Thursday there is no doubt about one thing: debt collection services are absolutely, definitely not allowed to operate as per normal until lockdown lifts.
In newly gazetted rules, cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (who is in overall charge of disaster management) laid out how the government plans to use cellphone tracking and determined who may travel to funerals.
See also | The govt can now track cellphone locations back to 5 March: how Covid-19 tracing will work
She also laid out much more precisely than before just what sectors of the financial industry should continue to work, and the one that shouldn't.
When the lockdown was first decreed, essential financial services were defines as those "necessary to maintain the functioning of the banking and payments environment, including the JSE and similar exchanges, as well as insurance services."
In an initial update to those rules, "medical scheme administration" was added to the list.
On Thursday the list grew both longer and more explicit, to now include mutual banks, "the savings and investment environment", and pension fund administration.
There is one rider to the list: it "may not be construed to include debt collection services".
Debt collection is also specifically mentioned elsewhere in the new regulations. Finance minister Tito Mboweni now has the power to designate more services necessary to keep the rest of the essential financial machinery working, as he sees fit, without going via Dlamini-Zuma's department.
There's just one limitation: he may not include debt collection in any such list he creates.
Other countries have partially or entirely suspended debt collection during the Covid-19 crisis, including Switzerland and Greece. But in the United States debt collectors are pushing back, saying their services are more important than ever for the likes of medical service providers.
Update: Some debt-collection agencies have confirmed that though their call centres are closed, they have staff working from home, is is allowed in any industry. That means people who owe money may not get knocks on the door – but are likely to still receive phone calls demanding money.
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Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- All the financial help available to South Africans during the corona crisis
- These SA scientists have made hand sanitiser from bread – it smells like toast
- Some of SA’s Covid-19 disaster regulations now provide for a lockdown extension beyond 21 days
- It’s not just petrol: LP gas prices are way down due to Covid-19, just in time for a chillier SA
- Government will give spaza shops money – but they must register with SARS
- Coronavirus hotline: Hundreds of SA doctors will now give you free advice