President Cyril Ramaphosa conceded on Thursday that poor implementation of key reforms before Covid-19 arrived put the country at a major disadvantage in its response to the pandemic, which led to an unprecedented collapse of the economy.
The government moved to shut down most economic activity in March in its effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The lockdown was seen widely as one of the most stringent in the world and led to a sharp drop in output and employment. GDP figures for the second quarter released in September showed the economy shrank 51% on an annualised basis or 16.4% if not annualised. SA’s GDP for 2020 is projected to plummet about 8%. Recent Stats SA figures show that the unemployment rate hit a record 30.8% in the third quarter of the year.
Ramaphosa recently tabled an economic recovery plan with the emphasis on growth strategies such as infrastructure investment.
Responding to a question from IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa during a question and answer session in the National Assembly on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the government’s slow implementation of crucial policies had cost the economy.
“Yes, our economy is not doing well. We have come up with a recovery plan ... had we acted differently [prior to the pandemic] maybe the situation that we are in could have been a lot better,” he said.
“We delayed in embarking on our reforms which we should have embarked upon a lot earlier, for instance the [release of] spectrum — we should have issued that much earlier, but we delayed by a couple of years and that would have led to the opening up of our economy,” Ramaphosa said.
He pointed to the slow infrastructure-build programme, which tapered off after the 2010 football World Cup, as well as the electricity crisis which government hasn’t been able to deal with decisively.
“Right now we [are] in rebuilding mode and correcting the mistakes of the past. We are saying let’s work together. If we work together we will be able to reposition the economy … We could have been better [during the Covid-19 lockdown] had we already put reforms in place,” said Ramaphosa.
The president said the government had learnt its lessons, and SA was on a “good trajectory”.
“I firmly believe that we are now in the right path largely because we focusing on implementation … all I want as president is implementation. I tell my colleagues ‘do not come tell me about stories and problems’, I only want to hear about implementation … We are on a good trajectory and we will be able to grow the economy,” Ramaphosa said.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said finance minister Tito Mboweni’s medium-term budget policy statement showed the government was keen on funding SAA and cutting support for schools and hospitals.
But Ramaphosa said the cuts announced in the medium-term budget policy statement were temporary and Mboweni would present a complete picture in the budget to be tabled in February.
Ramaphosa also fielded questions on corruption allegations against senior ANC members. Steenhuisen asked why two prominent corruption accused ANC officials — ANC secretary-general and former Free State premier Ace Magashule and MP Bongani Bongo — remained in their positions despite the government stance on rooting out corruption.
Ramaphosa dodged the question, saying the party was dealing with the matter and a decision would be made in due course.
“I stand to you as the president of the republic, those matters Steenhuisen raises are germane to the ANC,” Ramaphosa said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.