Ramaphosa defends economic recovery plan, admits its not new

President Cyril Ramaphosa has tacitly admitted to presenting South Africans with a recycled economic recovery plan, but said something had to be put on the table, in the midst of the crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ramaphosa responded to Members of Parliament (MP) on Wednesday, 21 October 2020, after they debated his contentious plan – it boasts five objectives, including a R100 billion package aimed at creating 800,000 job opportunities.

“This is not a moment to grandstand and to throw burps at each other,” he said.

“In the end, we have to put a plan on the table. It may well sound like we’re repeating what we’ve said in the past, yes that may well be so. It may well sound like we’ve not come up with anything new, but I think if you read between those lines, those paragraphs, and if they all take time to look at this plan carefully, you will find that there’s a new resolve, there’s a new determination and this plan is underpinned by the participation of the social partners of our country”

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Steenhuisen: Ramaphosa’s plan is ‘a letter to Santa’

This is after opposition MPs laid into his plan at the sitting with the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen describing it as a ‘letter to Santa’ which missed a number of key components, including Eskom.

“He also said reforms to Eskom and the opening of the energy market to more independent producers were long overdue. You’ve listed this in your plan; now make it happen,”

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen

“Extending the Covid grant is a welcome inclusion. This is a necessary stopgap measure for desperately poor South Africans, although we all know it is entirely unsustainable. The promised 800,000 job opportunities in the public sector is not the solution we need, either, and particularly not when the same plan speaks of cutting the public sector wage bill. Even for a letter to Santa, that makes no sense,” he said.

While the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Floyd Shivambu also lashed out over the plan, saying it failed to address land reform.

“…by the way mentioning of agriculture and aggro-processing outside of the land repossession programme, which this parliament agreed must be expropriated without compensation, is a sign of cowardice typical of the so-called freedom fighters and collaborators who are leading this country today,” Shivambu said.