The South African government will pump US$6 billion into the economy to create jobs following the damage the coronavirus pandemic has caused to the country, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has announced.
Presenting a supplementary budget to the National Assembly in Cape Town on Wednesday, Mboweni said the funds would include a re-purposed public employment programme and a Presidential Youth Employment Intervention.
He revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “job creation and protection initiative will be rolled out over the medium‐term (over the next three years).”
“In this financial year, an amount of $360 million has already been allocated, and a further $115 million has been set aside mainly for this purpose,” the minister said.
South Africa’s unemployment rose to 30.1% in the first quarter of the year and it is feared that it would reach 50% before the pandemic ends.
“These figures show that unemployment is our single greatest challenge. This economic support package sets aside $6bn for a multi‐year, comprehensive response to our jobs emergency,” the minister said.
NM/jn/APA