COVID-19: South Africa’s COVID-19 Rescue Package Scorecard Update

The Institute for Economic Justice reports that only about a third of South Africa's R500 billion COVID-19 rescue package had been utilized by February 2021. While social security and wage relief saw significant spending, other areas like the credit guarantee scheme and municipal funding suffered from disastrous underspending and lack of transparency. The report highlights that the expiration of social grants and the TERS scheme occurred just before the second pandemic wave, potentially plunging millions into hunger and leaving workers without support.

• Of the R500 billion COVID-19 rescue package announced in April 2020, only R158 billion had been used by February 2021, meaning approximately two-thirds (R342 billion) remained unused.
• The Credit Guarantee Scheme largely failed, with only R18 billion of the promised R200 billion in loans distributed by 16 January 2021; only 27% of the 48,366 applications were approved and paid.
• Social security measures, including the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, were effective in reducing hunger but were terminated or not extended, with researchers estimating that ending the SRD and Caregivers grants would plunge 5.8 million people into hunger.
• The Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) paid R55.6 billion to 1.1 million employers by mid-December 2020, but the program was ended unilaterally in October 2020, leaving many without support during the second wave of the pandemic.
• Municipal funding for water, sanitation, and homeless accommodation saw extreme underspending, with only 1% of the R20 billion allocated spent as of 30 September 2020.
• While 58% of the R21.5 billion health budget was spent as of 30 September 2020, a significant portion was reportedly lost to corruption involving the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical services.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2021). COVID-19: South Africa’s COVID-19 Rescue Package Scorecard Update. https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IEJ-COVID-19-%E2%80%93-rescue-scorecard-2021-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. COVID-19: South Africa’s COVID-19 Rescue Package Scorecard Update. 2021. https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IEJ-COVID-19-%E2%80%93-rescue-scorecard-2021-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=COVID-19: South Africa’s COVID-19 Rescue Package Scorecard Update |date=11 February 2021 |url=https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IEJ-COVID-19-%E2%80%93-rescue-scorecard-2021-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2021covid19, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{COVID-19: South Africa’s COVID-19 Rescue Package Scorecard Update}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IEJ-COVID-19-%E2%80%93-rescue-scorecard-2021-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }