FirstRand has announced that the executives of its largest businesses will forego 30% of their salaries for three months.

This includes the CEO, COO, and CFO of FirstRand, and CEOs of FNB, RMB and WesBank.

FirstRand chief executive officer, Alan Pullinger, said that the group wanted to demonstrate unity with the president and his ministers, who on Thursday night made the same pledge.

“The president’s request is meaningful, and we believe he is right to ask business leadership to step up and make the same sacrifice, particularly given what is at stake for our country,” he said.

The proceeds will be directed to FirstRand’s SPIRE fund, which, together with the Solidarity Response Fund and other industry initiatives, is focused on accelerating South Africa’s Covid-19 critical care capacity, including the provision of protective equipment to healthcare workers, FirstRand said.

South Africa has 2,003 confirmed cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), with 24 deaths.

On Friday, 10 April, the minister of health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said the country has recorded 410 recoveries.

To date, Gauteng has the highest number of positive cases with 801, followed by the Western Cape with 541. KwaZulu-Natal has 412, Free State 94, Eastern Cape 68, Limpopo 24, Mpumalanga 20, North West 18 and the Northern Cape 15, with 10 unallocated cases.

KwaZulu-Natal has recorded the highest number of deaths with 12, followed by the Western Cape with 6 and Gauteng and the Free State with three, respectively.

The minister said with the president having extended the national lockdown by two weeks, screening and social distancing will continue to be key pillars in slowing the spread of the virus.

Furthermore, 13 488 tracers have been brought on board to help the country to find the contacts of those who test positive for Covid-19.

Read: South Africa’s government ministers will take a 33% pay cut for the next three months – here’s how much they earn