FULL SPEECH: Ramaphosa Announces R500bn Stimulus Package To Deal With Economic Impact of COVID-19

Cyril Ramaphosa

It is 25 days since South Africa began a nation-wide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

It has demanded of you great fortitude and endurance.

It has caused you much suffering and required much sacrifice.

Once again, I salute you and I thank you.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted your lives and damaged our economy.

Its severity will continue to take a heavy toll in the weeks and months to come.

The pandemic has resulted in the sudden loss of income for businesses and individuals alike, deepening poverty and increasing hunger.

The urgent and dramatic measures we have taken to delay the spread of the virus have been absolutely necessary.

They have given us the space to better respond to the inevitable rise in infections and to thereby save tens of thousands of lives.

While the nation-wide lockdown is having a devastating effect on our economy,