Economic growth vital to ease Covid-19 'double crisis'
9 April 2020
South Africa cannot afford to let the private sector alone continue ‘taking the pain’ of the devastating economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic – urgently needed reforms must include reducing state spending and cutting the huge public service wage bill.
So said renowned economist DawieRoodt in a media briefing hosted this morning by Institute of Race Relations (IRR). Roodt was in discussion with IRR analyst Nicholas Babaya. (Watch the briefing here: https://bit.ly/IRR-Press-Briefing-Dawie-Roodt)
Roodt said: ‘We must reduce state spending and cut the wage bill. We cannot expect the private sector to continue taking pain and the civil service not.’
The crisis presented an ‘opportunity … to restructure fiscal accounts’. This should include ‘getting rid of SAA’ and restructuring Eskom ‘once and for all’.