After having faced the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic with measures to alleviate its socio-economic damage, the time is at hand to shift focus towards rebuilding the economy.
This is the message from President Cyril Ramaphosa in his weekly newsletter.
Recapping the various measures taken to extend support to households and businesses, he said that without these measures, the country and its people would be in a considerably worse set of circumstances than they currently are.
With the pandemic receding and the lockdown much reduced, ‘we are in a transition from relief to recovery’, the president wrote.
The emergency relief established a ‘firm foundation’ to rebuild the economy, and implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan has begun.
The President wrote: ‘We are seeing new funding commitments for infrastructure development following an infrastructure project roundtable last week. A number of employment programmes under the Presidential Employment Stimulus have started. We are pushing ahead with economic reforms in areas such as energy and telecommunications. Plans are being converted to action and commitments are being reflected in jobs and opportunities.’
The overall priorities are to stimulate growth and create jobs.
The President also appealed for ongoing vigilance about health-related matters, as a renewed pandemic would have dire consequences for the country.