Finance Minister Tito Mboweni says National Treasury will approach the World Bank for additional funding. This follows the approval of a R70 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mboweni briefed a virtual meeting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the Adjustment Appropriation Bill, which was approved by the National Assembly (NA) yesterday.
COVID-19 has turned the country on its head and the economy is set to shrink by as much as 7.5% of GDP.
This will result in a revenue shortfall of about R304 billion. Mboweni says government has to plug the gap as expenditure plans exceeds revenue collection.
He says the country’s fiscus is in a “very serious” situation and we must internalise the difficulties.
The minister says they have already got a billion dollar loan from the BRICS bank and R5 billion from the African Development Bank.
In the video below, Economist, Mark Schussler discusses the R70 billion loan from the IMF:
However, Mboweni took tough questions about the manner in which state funds are used corruptly.
The minister has reiterated that they are considering centralising all COVID-19 related procurement.
He’s also called on all departments to publish beneficiaries of tenders and contracts.
Talks about plans to approach the world for funding and he hopes they can come to the party.
