South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country’s economy would be put on a firmer footing by the re-allocation of 50 billion rand ($3.5 billion) in public spending he announced on Friday.
Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene added at the same media briefing that funds for the financial intervention would be found from under-performing government programmes, without giving any details.
Ramaphosa announced a raft of policy reform plans on Friday, including re-prioritising 50 billion rand ($3.51 billion) of public spending to boost economic growth and create jobs.
Ramaphosa fell short of announcing a stimulus package, saying there was no room to increase spending or borrowing.
“We have to resort to re-prioritising our budget and our spending,” Ramaphosa said in Pretoria.
Africa’s most industrialised economy entered recession in the second quarter for the first time since 2009, in a blow to Ramaphosa’s pledge to turnaround the economy after a decade of stagnation.
