Statement on meeting of Presidential Economic Advisory Council

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 15 October, 2020, present the widely consulted South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to a Joint Hybrid Sitting of Parliament.

The President has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces to call for a Joint Sitting in terms of Section 84(2)(d) of the Constitution, read with Rule 7(1)(b) of the Joint Rules of Parliament.

Parliament will convene at 14h00.

In his motivation for the Joint Sitting the President said: “The Coronavirus pandemic has plunged our country, continent and the world into an unprecedented crisis, which has caused huge suffering and loss of life.

“Our responses to date have averted the worst-case scenario though we remain vigilant. However, the damage caused by the pandemic to an already-weak economy, to employment, to livelihoods, and to public finances, has been colossal.

“We need to take extraordinary measures towards a speedy and sustainable economic recovery.”

The recovery plan has been widely deliberated among government and social partners – business, labour and community – under the auspices of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) .

The draft plan was tabled at the Cabinet Lekgotla on 7 and 8 October 2020. Further inputs were made today, Friday, 9 October 2020, at a meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, which the President chaired.

The Council was inaugurated in October 2019 to serve as a forum for in-depth and structured discussions on emerging global and domestic development, economic and development policies and to facilitate socialisation of Council recommendations by government and social partners.

The Council comprises local and international economic thought leaders, prominent economists and technical experts drawn from academia, private sector, labour, community, think tanks and other constituencies.

In today’s session the Council welcomed the draft economic recovery plan and identified areas of emphasis – in particular, energy security and the green economy, job creation and infrastructure development.

The Council also highlighted the importance of protecting inclusive markets free from excessive pricing and anti-competitive behaviour.

Following extensive consultation and partnership in the drafting of the blueprint for rebuilding and growing the economy with sustainability, resilience and inclusion, the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan will be finalised at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 14 October, 2020, before the President presents it to Parliament.

Source: Government of South Africa