President Cyril Ramaphosa will this week announce the long-awaited economic reconstruction and recovery plan.
Ramaphosa will address parliament on the plan in a joint sitting of the National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly on Thursday.
The plan has been months in the making and widely deliberated upon by government and its social partners — which includes business and labour — under the auspices of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
The draft plan was tabled at the cabinet lekgotla last week, while further inputs were made on Friday at a meeting of the presidential economic advisory council, the presidency said last week.
The plan aims to counter economic damage done by the Covid-19 lockdown and reset the economy for growth.
At least 2.2-million people have lost their jobs and GDP for 2020 is projected to plummet by about 8%.
The presidency said on Friday that the worst-case scenario has been averted through the government’s responses to the economic devastation caused by the measures implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19, but that the damage caused to an already weak economy has been “colossal”.
“We need to take extraordinary measures towards a speedy and sustainable economic recovery,” Ramaphosa said in his motivation for the joint sitting.
Ramaphosa’s address comes about a week before finance minister Tito Mboweni delivers his medium-term budget policy statement.
Also on Thursday, the state of disaster declared in March and extended to October 15 will expire. The government will have to extend the declaration of a state of disaster by Thursday if SA’s lockdown, which is at its lowest level, is to continue.
Parliament is set for a hectic schedule of committee meetings taking place this week.
These include the meeting of the portfolio committee on communications on Tuesday. The committee will be briefed by the beleaguered SA Post Office on matters including its turnaround strategy, as well as the cash payments made on behalf of the SA Social Security Agency.
Also on Tuesday, the standing committee on public accounts will meet the department of public enterprises over SAA, which is in business rescue.
The ad hoc committee on the appointment of the auditor-general will meet on Tuesday. Outgoing auditor-general Kimi Makwetu will complete his term on November 30.
On Wednesday, the standing committee on public accounts will be briefed by the special investigating unit on progress in the investigation reports on power utility Eskom.
The select committee on public enterprises & communication will on Wednesday be briefed by Transnet on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the freight and ports business operations and the effect this has had on its future plans regarding its infrastructure build programme.
On Friday, the portfolio committee on public service & administration will receive an update on the recent developments and implementation of the final leg of a multiterm wage agreement by the department of public service & administration and the National Treasury.
The saga relating to wage increases in this financial year is the subject of litigation in which public sector trade unions want to enforce the agreement signed by the government in 2018, which it has reneged on in a bid to curb the growing budget deficit. The fight about the implementation of this agreement also comes as the next round of wage negotiations are set to take place in the coming months.
The National Union of Public Service & Allied Workers will on Monday protest outside the Public Investment Corporation’s offices in Pretoria against the implementation of a unilateral change to their terms and condition of employment.
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