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The president is expected to address a joint session of both houses of Parliament at 2:00 p.m. Thursday and will be broadcast live.
President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings on August 15, 2020. Image: GCIS
CAPE TOWN – With President Cyril Ramaphosa expected to present the government’s economic recovery plan on Thursday, he is under pressure from all quarters to come up with bold and decisive action rather than more rhetoric and promises.
Ramaphosa is expected to address a joint session of both houses of Parliament at 2pm and will be broadcast live.
The long-awaited recovery plan comes as Finance Minister Tito Mboweni was waiting to hear whether Parliament would grant his request to postpone the presentation of its medium-term budget review until October 28 instead of next Wednesday.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) are on different sides of the ideological fence. But they agreed that what Ramaphosa says could make or break it.
John Steenhuisen, leader of the opposition in Parliament, said it was a critical moment for the president.
“It is going to be a watershed moment in the history of the president and in how it is written, this is the moment now, he has to bring bold reforms to the table. This is not a time to be shy, it is not a time to bow to allies and compromise the growth agenda, ”Steenhuisen said.
Matthew Parks of Cosatu agreed that it was time for Ramaphosa to show his hand.
“We are in the worst economic crisis in 100 years, we have lost 2.2 million jobs in the last quarter, we have exceeded 51% unemployment, we are in serious danger of falling into an economic depression unless the government intervenes. decisively with the help of the private sector to pull the economy out of its deep hole to create jobs, rebuild the state, deal with corruption and collapsing state enterprises, in particular Eskom, “said Parks.
“So it’s a very long list of tasks for the government, but we have no other choice. This is a Rubicon moment for the state and the entire nation. “
Steenhuisen said that if Ramaphosa comes up with a wish list, the markets would react badly and he could risk becoming a lame president.
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