EISH. Things are bad.
Munier feels for folks working in the non-
essential sectors.
Some of the worst off are operators in the tourism industry, where travel bans have paralysed the market.
The entertainment industry has been hard hit, with all events and shows postponed until further notice, and artists left without income.
The hospitality industry was shut down, restaurants have only been able to do take-aways this past week, but bars and nightclubs are longer-term casualties.
Sports and gyms are high infection risks, so those too are out of commission.
The losses have been devastating.
But it was when Munier came across a Gumtree ad for a racehorse that he realised how badly that business has been hit too.
The ad says, “4 Year Old Arabian Colt Free” and the sale was marked “urgent”.
“Yes, it really is free. You need to collect it in Montagu or arrange for it to be collected. That bit is your only cost.”
FREE: Gumtree post advertising a horse for sale
It’s a sign of the times.
Apparently the lockdown has put horseracing under serious threat of closure, which could leave 60 000 unemployed, but also see thousands of horses euthanised.
In a bid to avert a calamity, members of the industry have put together an online petition appealing to President Cyril Ramaphosa to step in and save them by allowing “horseracing to continue behind closed doors”.
Champion racehorse trainer Jonathan Snaith said: “We are asking for closed racing which will involve about 65 people on a 100 hectare property with around 15 minutes of actual racing per day. That is all it will take to avoid the total collapse of this beautiful industry.
“Failure to resume racing now will see this industry close its doors for ever, along with the loss of 60 000 jobs and an international media disaster for South Africa, which would come about with the euthanasia of thousands of horses that can no longer support themselves by racing.”
SA is the eighth most important horseracing market out of 65 countries, which is significant for horse exports and profitable TV rights.
Last week came the news that the Vodacom Durban July will take place this year, but behind closed doors as a broadcast-only event.