President Announces Plan to Revive South African Economy

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the Reconstruction and Recovery Plan which aims to steer the country back to desirable growth levels following the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. The multi-facted plan, which will see government commit U.S.$6 billion to support and create over 800,000 employment opportunities over the next three years, will also involve a U.S.$60.4 billion investment in infrastructure over the next four years. Critically, Ramaphosa also envisioned more stable energy infrastructure in the next two years which would require an extra 11,800MW be brought onto the national grid, over 50% of which will be sourced from renewable energy and independent producers. Citizens may also be able to generate their own power, any excess of which may then be sold to national power utility Eskom. Ramaphosa said: "The current regulatory framework will be adapted to facilitate new generation projects, while protecting the integrity of the national grid. Applications for own-use generation projects are being urgently fast-tracked."