6 ASSOCIATIONS
What to expect in year three of the pandemic .
From
An Interview with IOPSA
A disparity of outcomes between rich and poor countries will emerge in 2022 . The Gates Foundation , one of the world ’ s largest charities , predicts that average incomes will return to their pre-pandemic levels in 90 % of advanced economies , compared with only a third of low- and middleincome economies such as South Africa .
It is possible this same prediction will play out among communities – 90 % of wealthier communities will return to their pre-pandemic levels , compared with only a third of low- and middle-income communities . This is of importance when plumbers pick their clientele next year .
Brendan Reynolds , executive director of IOPSA , says he is nervous of making any predictions , because over the past two years these had to be discarded within the first quarter .
“ If you go back to the start of this year , or the end of last year ( 2020 ), and I told you that we ' re going to have lockdowns for months , and that businesses are going to close left , right and centre ; that people are going to lose their jobs , their houses , that we ' re going to have strikes and riots the likes of which we ' ve seldom seen before , that our borders are going to be closed , that there ' s going to be a worldwide supply chain crisis – nobody would have believed me . And yet that is what this year has been . It has been a horrendous year .
“ I can ' t remember a more difficult year ever in my lifetime . People have only ever experienced the like in war zones . So now we sit here and try predict 2022 .”
IOPSA
Brendan Reynolds
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline March 2022 Volume 28 I Number 1