ISAAH MHLANGA: Treasury and private sector must pull out all stops to prop up economy

Given what we know now — that there is to be a near complete lockdown of company operations and movement of people — SA’s GDP will probably  contract as much as 4% in 2020 due to Covid-19.

This will result in about 1.7-million jobs lost, concentrated largely in manufacturing (940,000); transport (300,000); mining (230,000); electricity, gas and water; and business services. GDP growth cannot be saved, but some jobs can, in some highly uncertain conditions.