Covid-19 package: relief and rescue are the foundations of economic recovery

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that the South African government's R500-billion Covid-19 rescue package has been inadequately implemented, with only about one-third of the funds materialising. The IEJ asserts that economic recovery is impossible without first providing comprehensive rescue and relief, calling for the abandonment of austerity measures by the National Treasury to support income, jobs, businesses, and health infrastructure.

• The R500-billion Covid-19 rescue package announced in April 2020 has seen poor implementation, with the IEJ estimating that only about 35% of the package has been utilised. The 2020 Supplementary Budget provided a net increase to non-interest spending of only R36-billion, which represents less than 1% of GDP.
• Major components of the rescue package have failed to materialise, with just over 10% of the R100-billion job protection and creation fund and the R200-billion loan guarantee scheme being implemented.
• Corruption and mismanagement have further hindered the rescue efforts. As of 8 February 2021, the Special Investigating Unit was investigating R10.3-billion of the R30.7-billion spent on Covid-19 goods and services between April and November 2020.
• The IEJ recommends several emergency measures to support recovery, including increasing Covid-19 SRD grants to at least R585 per person per month, allocating the full R100-billion for immediate emergency relief spending, and expanding the TERS scheme with improved administration.
• The document calls for increased health funding to support testing, tracing, and the vaccine roll-out, as well as investment in local medical manufacturing and the waiver of intellectual property rights on vaccines and medication.

APA

Sibeko, B., Taylor, J., & Lehmann-Grube, K. (2021). Covid-19 package: relief and rescue are the foundations of economic recovery. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/covid-19-package-relief-and-rescue-are-the-foundations-of-economic-recovery-2/

Chicago

Sibeko, Busi, Julia Taylor, and Katrina Lehmann-Grube. Covid-19 package: relief and rescue are the foundations of economic recovery. Institute for Economic Justice, 2021. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/covid-19-package-relief-and-rescue-are-the-foundations-of-economic-recovery-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Sibeko |first1=Busi |last2=Taylor |first2=Julia |last3=Lehmann-Grube |first3=Katrina |title=Covid-19 package: relief and rescue are the foundations of economic recovery |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=10 February 2021 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/covid-19-package-relief-and-rescue-are-the-foundations-of-economic-recovery-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{sibeko2021covid19, author = {Sibeko, Busi and Taylor, Julia and Lehmann-Grube, Katrina}, title = {{Covid-19 package: relief and rescue are the foundations of economic recovery}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/covid-19-package-relief-and-rescue-are-the-foundations-of-economic-recovery-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }