South Africa's Response to the Economic Crisis

South Africa’s response to the crisis

The South African government, taking into consideration the impact of the global economic crisis on the local economy, decided that an effective response is required. The “Framework for South Africa’s Response to the International Economic Crisis” was released in February 2009 with the main purpose to contextualise the strategies and plans of the country as a response to the international economic crisis.
The report proposes a plethora of interventions to “fight” against the crisis. The key directions are going to be:
1) Increase of investment in public infrastructure;
2) Macroeconomic policies to limit the impact of the recession;
3) Industrial and trade policy measures in order to improve the competitiveness and performance of key industries such as mining industries;
4) Employment measures both in the public and private sectors to avoid further retrenchments;
5) Development of social plans;
6) Global coordination; and
7) Social partnerships (i.e. banking regulations).
It will be interesting to observe the implementation of these interventions and assess the impact thereof on the South African economy

Source: Afrinem Newsletter April 20, 2009