COVID-19 FACT SHEET #3: The New Budget Betrays the President’s R500 Billion COVID-19 Rescue Package

The Institute for Economic Justice argues that the South African Supplementary Budget of 24 June 2020 betrays the promised R500 billion COVID-19 rescue package. Instead of the promised amount, the budget provides a net increase to non-interest spending of R36 billion, representing less than 1% of GDP. The document details shortfalls across seven key areas: social security, job protection, health, wage support (TERS), municipal support, tax relief, and the credit guarantee scheme. It highlights that much of the R145 billion targeted for COVID-19 is funded through reprioritisations and the suspension of baseline allocations, while planning a further R230 billion reduction in spending over two years.

• The Supplementary Budget fails to deliver the R500 billion rescue package announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 21 April 2020, providing instead a net increase to non-interest spending of R36 billion, which is less than 1% of GDP.
• Of the R145 billion targeted for COVID-19-related expenditure, R109 billion is sourced from reprioritisations and the suspension of baseline allocations, and the budget plans an additional R230 billion spending reduction over the next two years.
• Social security funding was reduced from the promised R50 billion to R41 billion, with only R25 billion in new spending. The COVID-19 R350 grant has seen significant implementation failures, with only 1.5 million grants paid despite an initial projection of 10-15 million eligible people.
• Job protection and creation funding is severely under-allocated, with only R6 billion provided in 2020/21 compared to the promised R100 billion, meaning only 6% of the fund has been actually allocated.
• Health funding includes only R2.9 billion in new funds out of a R21.5 billion allocation, with the remainder coming from reprioritising essential social services. While bed capacity increased by approximately 27,000, there is no detail on ICU bed increases or PPE for rural and low-income areas.
• The Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) has supported between 3.66 million and 4.7 million workers using R23 billion to R23.8 billion, which represents less than 30% of the workforce while utilizing 60% of the budget.
• The R200 billion credit guarantee scheme has seen slow uptake, with only R10 billion accessed thus far.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). COVID-19 FACT SHEET #3: The New Budget Betrays the President’s R500 Billion COVID-19 Rescue Package. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IEJ-COVID-19-fact-sheet-3-%E2%80%93-budget-analysis-1-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. COVID-19 FACT SHEET #3: The New Budget Betrays the President’s R500 Billion COVID-19 Rescue Package. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IEJ-COVID-19-fact-sheet-3-%E2%80%93-budget-analysis-1-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=COVID-19 FACT SHEET #3: The New Budget Betrays the President’s R500 Billion COVID-19 Rescue Package |date=1 July 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IEJ-COVID-19-fact-sheet-3-%E2%80%93-budget-analysis-1-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2020covid19, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{COVID-19 FACT SHEET \#3: The New Budget Betrays the President’s R500 Billion COVID-19 Rescue Package}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IEJ-COVID-19-fact-sheet-3-%E2%80%93-budget-analysis-1-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }