The pandemic could set back efforts to address poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment by many years, the president says
It will require innovative thinking and lots of resources for South Africans to repair the country’s “shattered” economy, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic setting back previous attempts at recovery by years, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.
The president announced a R500bn relief package last week to mitigate the negative effect of the outbreak on economic activity, as well as ensure that millions of South Africans do not go hungry as they are confined to their homes. On Friday Moody’s Investors Service said in a report that it expected the government to record a budget deficit of 13.5% of GDP for the fiscal year of 2020, which ends in March 2021, as a result of the effect of the support package together with the effect of the weak economic backdrop on revenue. That would be up from an estimated 6.5% in 2019, and the agency’s previous forecast of 8.5% for the current fiscal year.
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