The Gauteng economy is forecast to contract 6% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, prompting the province to add R4bn more to its budget to help battle the effects of the pandemic, finance MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said on Thursday.
While SA had already entered a technical recession before Covid-19 brought the economy to a standstill, she said the current data indicates a clear recession that will deepen in the second quarter. Nkomo-Ralehoko said the budget has been increased from the initial R142.4bn for the 2020/2021 financial year to R146.4bn.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said that despite extensive reprioritisation of the existing baseline, focus has remained on the 10-year plan for the provincial government, “and the resources allocated to the actualisation of those comprehensive measures [are] crucial to economic mitigation, job preservation and socio-economic recovery in this period”.
“Areas to be funded include the appointment of additional personnel to assist with screening, social-distancing, hygiene, sanitisation and personal protective equipment ,” Nkomo-Ralehoko said.