President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing for spending cuts to breathe new life into the country's struggling economy.President Cyril Ramaphosa is forging ahead with spending cuts to revitalise an ailing economy, the Presidency has said. The Presidency said the"reforms" would be implemented over the next nine months.
On Tuesday, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said public sector spending would be cut over the next nine months to"restore confidence and bolster the growth strategy going forward". Work is ongoing on the reconfiguration of government; necessary consultations are taking place and will continue to take place as required with a broader section of stakeholders, including labour.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted spending and revenue collection, while the economy was hampered by the"simultaneous growth and unemployment crisis; and low growth due to declining levels of fixed investment, economic concentration, inefficient rail and ports, and high cost of doing business, among other contributors".On 5 September, the Treasury announced that the economy grew by a higher-than-expected 0.6% between April and June after expanding by 0.