RECORDED | Finance minister Tito Mboweni delivers supplementary budget speech

Finance minister Tito Mboweni is expected to deliver the supplementary budget speech at 3pm on Wednesday, after the government’s announcement that it would spend R500bn to support the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sanisha Packirisamy, an economist at Momentum Investments, said Mboweni should give a broad analysis of the expected impact of Covid-19 and the associated containment measures on the labour force, the business environment, the broader economy and poor and vulnerable parts of society. 

Packirisamy said though SA has followed the action guidelines stipulated by the IMF to fight the spread of the virus, the government should detail plans on preparing for recovery after Covid-19.

“More detail needs to be seen, which will involve dealing with elevated debt levels, an escalation in bankruptcies and a rise in unemployment and inequality."