TimesLIVE reports that the Jolly Roger, a pub in Parkhurst, northern Johannesburg, had raised R109,000 by Monday in a crowdfunding drive to help pay staff during the lockdown.  

In its plea on gogetfunding.com on 8 April, titled ‘Help Save the Jolly Roger’, owner LeBrun Rossouw noted that mandatory physical distancing was a death sentence for businesses like the pub.  “The reality is that this leaves us closed for an unforeseen period, and if we do reopen it’ll take time to get back to 'business as usual'. As a result, our staff will be hit the hardest,” Rossouw pointed out.  He said the reality was Covid-19 could not only destroy his business, but leave 28 employees without jobs and strip them of their livelihoods.  Rossouw said donations would go directly to staff so jobs could be saved.  Those willing to donate would qualify for a half-priced pizza when visiting the restaurant during the first two weeks of reopening.  Fast food chain Anat also recently resorted to crowdfunding in a bid to keep its doors open after the lockdown and save 600 jobs.

• Read the full original of the detailed report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE

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