Economy is key – Cyril

President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to reset the country’s economy and the entire economic structure to protect existing jobs and to create more jobs beyond Covid-19.

Answering questions in parliament, Ramaphosa said there was a need to reset the country’s economy and government would do so by advancing a number of initiatives to boost the economy and provide jobs for the youth, in particular.

Government would embark on programmes to save jobs that were at risk as a result of the virus-induced economic crisis.

“We are going to act unconventionally to protect jobs. We will look at new sectors of the economy that will create jobs,” Ramaphosa said.

Some jobs had been created through the informational sector during the lockdown, enabling the sustenance of the livelihoods of the poor.

More jobs would be created as government planned to increase the state capacity, including improving the efficiency of the country’s ports.

Measures had been put in place to balance the economy and ensure recovery,” Ramaphosa said.

“We need to reset everything because Covid-19 has become a challenge to everything.

“We do need to reset our economy and our economic structure.”

The state had been playing a critical role in the economic recovery efforts.

An emergency budget to be unveiled by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni this month would be in line with the ideas to relook at the resetting of the economy.

The process of reindustrialisation would be embarked upon so as to ensure that goods were manufactured within the country after the coronavirus period.

Ramaphosa alluded to the manufacture of masks and personal protective equipment as a starting point.