Women with Drive Postponed
Following MasterDrive’s successful implementation of a Transport Month initiative honouring female employees in the industry, MasterDrive plans to host two events in 2020.
The first of these was to be hosted in April, however, the MasterDrive team has decided to postpone until it is safe to hold an event of this magnitude.
The Women in Transport event, which has been rebranded as Women with Drive will still take place. The managing director of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, explains: “In light of the statement made last night by President Cyril Ramaphosa, MasterDrive has decided to defer the upcoming event. President Ramaphosa made several decisive announcements about how South Africa will attempt to slow the spread of Covid-19.
“One of these restrictions is to limit the gathering of people, in particular large groups of over 100. As MasterDrive supports the proactive attempt the country is making to prevent Covid-19 from reaching the crisis level that it has in many other countries, we will do what we can to support these attempts.”
MasterDrive feels that it is in the best interests of our valued clients and our own employees to be cautious.
“We do, however, plan to host the event once it is safe to do so. We also want to encourage people to avoid panic. The restrictions have been in place to address the spread of Covid-19 proactively. The virus reached South Africa much later than other countries which has given us the value of time and hindsight.”
Business as usual
Another key point in President Ramaphosa’s statement was that Covid-19 has the potential to have lasting effects on the economy if handled incorrectly.
“While we feel it is expedient to postpone gatherings, business will continue as normal. Companies with strict health and safety requirements cannot let training fall by the wayside. As result, MasterDrive is still delivering training with our trainers and facilities prepared with extra precautions. These include a no physical contact policy, additional hygiene requirements and adjusted air circulation systems, to name a few.
“We are also introducing an eLearning option where the theory component can be completed online and a certificate of completion will be issued once the driver completes their in-car. In addition, the sales team will make greater use of modern technology to replace face-to-face interactions in companies limiting this.”
The country’s proactive response means there is no reason to bring business to a standstill.
“Take the precautions and restrictions seriously but avoid giving into the levels of panic that have made countries like Australia infamous. Let us continue to work together to limit the effect Covid-19 can have on South Africa so that we emerge from the pandemic, healthy in every sphere of our life,”
says Herbert.
