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President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa called a joint session of Parliament to discuss his economic recovery plan.
- It will take place on October 15.
- Ramaphosa’s economic recovery plan was agreed to by Nedlac last month.
President Cyril Ramphosa has convened a joint session of both houses of Parliament to outline his plan for “South Africa’s economic recovery and reconstruction plan.”
Ramaphosa wrote to the president of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise, and the president of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Amos Masondo, about his intention to convene a joint session of the two houses, Parliament announced in a statement on Friday by the late.
The joint session is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 15.
“We need to take extraordinary steps towards a rapid and sustainable economic recovery,” Ramaphosa wrote in his letter to presidents.
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Article 84 (2) (d) of the Constitution, read in conjunction with Article 7 (1) (b) of the Joint Rules of Parliament, allows the President to convene a joint session.
It’s unusual for the president to take this step beyond the annual State of the Nation Address (Sona). However, last year, after a public outcry over gender-based violence and femicide, Ramaphosa also called for a special joint session, where he announced a plan to tackle the scourge.
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Ramaphosa was due to appear before the NCOP for verbal questions on October 15, but the questioning session will be rescheduled.
Due to the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s economy is projected to contract between 7% and 13% this year.
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Last month, the National Council for Economic Development and Labor (Nedlac) agreed on Ramaphosa’s action plan for the country’s economic recovery. Details of the plan will be released once the Cabinet finalizes it, the presidency said at the time.
The joint session is a week before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is expected to deliver his medium-term budget, which he warned on Friday would not be popular.
