No relief in South Africa’s many relief packages

In October 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa convened a joint sitting of parliament to announce an economic reconstruction and recovery plan. He said the government had previously announced a relief package worth R500-billion, or 10% of GDP, which was the biggest in the African continent and compared with other countries in the G20. 

“I want to focus on the extraordinary measures we must take to restore the economy to inclusive growth following the devastation caused by Covid-19 to our people’s lives and the country’s economy,” he said.

After a “lost decade” between 2009 and 2019, during which GDP per capita did not grow, South Africa’s response to the pandemic-induced recession was inadequate. The government has repeatedly lied about the size of its relief package and has provided no recovery plan for a battered economy, which had 12.3-million people who do not work and an unemployment rate of 44.1% during the second quarter of 2022. The country is heading for a second “lost decade” between 2020 and 2030.