120 Economists and Researchers Say The Supplementary Budget Reneges on the President’s COVID-19 Rescue Package

A submission by 120 economists and researchers to the Standing Committee on Finance recommending the rejection of the Supplementary Budget tabled on 24 June 2020, arguing that it fails to implement President Cyril Ramaphosa's R500 billion COVID-19 rescue package.

• The Supplementary Budget is criticized for failing to deliver the R500 billion rescue package announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 21 April 2020. Instead of the promised amount, the Budget provides a net increase to non-interest spending of only R36 billion for the current year, with R109 billion of the R145 billion targeted for COVID-19 funded through reprioritisations and the suspension of baseline allocations.
• The authors argue that the Budget undermines several key pillars of the rescue package: social security received only R25 billion in new spend against a R50 billion allocation; job protection and creation received only 6% of the R100 billion allocation for 2020/21; and health spending received only R2.9 billion in net new funds.
• The document highlights failures in the implementation of financial relief measures, noting that less than 30% of the workforce has been supported by the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) despite 60% of its budget being used. Additionally, only R10 billion of the R200 billion in off-budget credit guarantees has been accessed, and a reported tax shortfall of R26 billion suggests that much of the expected R70 billion in tax deferments remains unused, particularly by SMMEs.
• The Budget reduces planned expenditure by R230 billion over two years, which the authors describe as a violation of the rescue package's spirit and a failure to implement counter-cyclical measures. New spending for the financial year constitutes less than 1% of GDP, far below the 10% of GDP target originally lauded by the National Treasury.
• The authors identify several 'dangerous reductions' in departmental allocations to fund COVID-19 expenses, including R2.1 billion cut from Basic Education, nearly R10 billion from higher education and training, R4.6 billion from transport, R2.3 billion from human settlements, R2.4 billion from agriculture, land reform and rural development, and R1.5 billion from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
• The economists propose alternative financing methods to support public health and the economy, suggesting a combination of increased borrowing, solidarity taxation, reserve bank action, and the mobilization of domestic quasi-public funds.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). 120 Economists and Researchers Say The Supplementary Budget Reneges on the President’s COVID-19 Rescue Package. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Submission-to-Finance-Comm-Economists.docx-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. 120 Economists and Researchers Say The Supplementary Budget Reneges on the President’s COVID-19 Rescue Package. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Submission-to-Finance-Comm-Economists.docx-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=120 Economists and Researchers Say The Supplementary Budget Reneges on the President’s COVID-19 Rescue Package |date=30 June 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Submission-to-Finance-Comm-Economists.docx-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2020120, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{120 Economists and Researchers Say The Supplementary Budget Reneges on the President’s COVID-19 Rescue Package}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Submission-to-Finance-Comm-Economists.docx-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }