KZN economic recovery PL AN

KZN Treasury remains committed to fiscal prudence as budgets feel the Covid-19 pinch

We are approaching the expected Covid-19 storm, with the immediate future seeing us face both health and economic crises. Being in the frontline of the pandemic, we must pledge unqualified support – and discipline – for our public health strategy; and regarding the economy of our country, the government has introduced a R500-billion economic support package to mitigate the worst economic effects of the pandemic.

Of the R500-billion, R100-billion was to be contributed from cuts in national departments’ budgets, and R30- billion was to come from provinces. Unfortunately, this meant KZN’s budget had to be revised downward by R6,2- billion and redirected to the significant Covid-19 demands of health, education and social development.

In addition, our municipalities have received a further almost R2-billion to assist with their Covid-19 related expenditure.

KZN Finance MEC, Mr Ravi Pillay, said the reprioritisation process was premised on the principle that key programmes must not be affected. Savings have also been realised in respect of events, subsistence and travel.

ABOVE: KWAZULU-NATAL FINANCE MEC, MR RAVI PILLAY.

Provincial Treasury remains committed to fiscal prudence and has therefore put measures in place to reduce risks which may arise from Covid-19 emergency procurement. The Department will perform oversight over all procurement while also placing a greater emphasis on oversight over health. New time-bound reporting and accountability mechanisms have been created to achieve this.

The government has introduced a R500- billion economic support package to mitigate the worst economic effects of the pandemic

Existing austerity measures will be maintained and even deepened, while some non-core programmes will be postponed.

At the same time, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government is driving an economic recovery plan. Central to this is a strong social compact between government, business, labour and civil society. Intense engagements are underway between the social partners, and 12 work streams are finalising recommendations for each sector, inter alia, agriculture, ICT, clothing and textile, tourism, and the informal sector.

We need to stay resolute, weather the Covid-19 storm and step-by-step rebuild the KwaZulu-Natal economy.