As the country begins to roll out a massive vaccination programme, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to grow by a rate of 3.3 percent in 2021.<\/p>\n
Releasing the Budget Review for the next three years, the National Treasury said on Wednesday the COVID-19 shock is estimated to have led to a 7.2 percent contraction in GDP growth in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economy has started to recover in response to improved global conditions and the easing of lockdown restrictions and in the months ahead, a mass vaccine rollout will support a full reopening of the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cGDP growth of 3.3 percent is projected for 2021, moderating to an average of 1.9 percent in 2022 and 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n
Treasury said government\u2019s balanced and prudent fiscal strategy is designed to stabilise the public finances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 2021 Budget provides continued support to the economy and public health in the short term without adding to long-term spending pressures. Capital spending is the fastest-growing component of non-interest spending.\u201d<\/p>\n
The department said the outlook remains highly uncertain and the economic effects of the pandemic are far-reaching.<\/p>\n
By the third quarter of 2020, there were 1.7 million fewer jobs than in the same period in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cRising unemployment and income losses have entrenched existing inequalities. GDP is only expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels in late 2023. Given South Africa\u2019s structural constraints, its recovery will be slower than many of its developing-country peers,\u201d said Treasury.<\/p>\n
Alongside a robust public health response to the pandemic and immediate support to households and businesses, the National Treasury said government\u2019s recovery plan focuses on raising the economy\u2019s long-term growth rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cStructural reforms will lower barriers to faster, inclusive growth by improving access to reliable electricity, water and sanitation services; enabling cost-effective digital services; promoting the green economy; and supporting industries with high employment potential, such as tourism and agriculture.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven these circumstances, the 2021 Budget strikes a difficult balance between providing immediate support for the economy and shoring up the country\u2019s public finances.\u201d <\/p>\n
Treasury said over the next three years, the fiscal policy will focus on:<\/p>\n
– Extending temporary support in response to COVID-19;<\/p>\n
– Narrowing the budget deficit and stabilising debt; and<\/p>\n
– Exercising continued restraint in non-interest expenditure growth while<\/p>\n
improving the composition of expenditure.<\/p>\n
\u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the country begins to roll out a massive vaccination programme, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to grow by a rate of 3.3 percent in 2021. Releasing the Budget Review for the next three years, the National Treasury said on Wednesday the COVID-19 shock is estimated to have led to a 7.2 percent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-181567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-sanews","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}