Over the weekend President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a stimulus package amounting to R48bn, intended to boost the economy. But on Monday the National Treasury said there is actually no stimulus package, but rather measures to reprioritise funds. This sounds similar to when former finance minister Malusi Gigaba announced his 14-point plan, only to correct journalists a few weeks later by saying it was not a 14-point plan but economic boosting measures. Over the same weekend, it came to light that there will be a R59bn bail-out package for state-owned enterprises. And again on Monday it came to light that the National Treasury is denying that a R59bn package has been agreed. This sounds like a repeat of 2017, when planned bail-outs were denied but then came to light in a secret cabinet memo. This situation raises a number of questions. Is there really a plan to address SA’s massive unemployment problem? If there is a plan, why is it so secretive? Is there a rift between the finance mi...
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