Question NW2580 to the President of the Republic
05 January 2021 - NW2580
Cardo, Dr MJ to ask the President of the Republic
(a) What is the official status in Government of the document entitled Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa prepared by the National Treasury in 2019 and (b) how has its recommendations been incorporated into the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan he announced on Thursday, 15 October 2020?
Reply:
The document entitled Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and competitiveness: A Contribution Towards a Growth Agenda for the South African Economy, prepared by the National Treasury, outlines a number of specific reforms that can promote economic transformation, inclusive growth and competitiveness.
This document provides a framework for government’s thinking about the critical structural reforms that are required to raise the potential growth rate of the South African economy.
The Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that was presented in Parliament on 15 October 2020 sets out the vision and action plan to guide South Africa’s economic recovery and reconstruction effort.
The plan sets out a range of immediate and short-term measures that will be taken to rebuild confidence, kick-start the economy and continue to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. These measures are accompanied by a set of structural reforms that will enable faster, more inclusive growth and employment over the medium to long term.
Many of these reforms are drawn from the framework provided by the document entitled Economic Transformation, Inclusive Growth, and Competitiveness: A Contribution Towards a Growth Agenda for the South African Economy.
Reforms to modernise network industries, reduce barriers to entry, facilitate regional trade and integration, promote labour-absorbing sectors, and re-imagine our industrial policy are cornerstones of both documents.