Just when we thought we were coming out of the woods, scientists reported the discovery of the Omicron variant. Understandably, the public – both locally and abroad – has responded with panic. In many ways, this cannot be helped – there is, after all, so little we know about this variant. What we do know though, is that most hospitalisations are occurring amongst the unvaccinated, which points to a simple fact: despite the vagaries of this variant, vaccination remains our very best line of defence. We urge you to keep yourself, and your families, safe by having the jab as soon as you can.
The more people who vaccinate, the lower the likelihood of a lockdown. This is important because business remains unpredictable. With electricity shortages and loadshedding adding to our woes, some analysts are saying that it may take as long as four years for our economy to recover.
How is this going to affect us? For one thing, it’s interesting to see that there has been sustained growth in used car sales; in fact, 2.4 used vehicles are sold for every new car that leaves the showroom. This shows there is strong demand for more affordable, economic vehicles.
This bodes well for MIWA, and for the RMI as a whole. Throughout the storms of the year, we have shown massive resilience and adaptability. Our healthy financial state places us in a strong position to continue with the projects we have planned, and many are back to full scale, which means that we are able to add value to businesses.
It is all thanks to you, our members, that we find ourselves in this position of strength. Our gratitude goes to every one of you for your ongoing, active support.
As this is our last newsletter for the year, I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy festive season, and safe travels. Look out for us again in the new year, when we will send you all the news for December and January in a combined newsletter.
Pieter Niemand,
MIWA National Director