"We must overcome a legacy of exclusion and dispossession that continues to impoverish our people, and which this pandemic has severely worsened," he said.

"As a result of the relief measures that we implemented and the phased reopening of the economy, we expect to see a strong recovery in employment by the end of 2020." 

The president said, to date, more than R57 billion in wage support has been paid to over 4.5 million workers through the Special UIF TERS scheme.

Ramaphosa announced an extension of the COVID-19 TERS benefit until 15 March for sectors that have not been able to operate.

The president also announced the decision to extend the period for the Special COVID-19 Grant of R350 by three months.

The president reminded Parliament of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, presented in October 2020, that focuses on infrastructure, local production, employment stimulus and energy generation capacity increase.

He referred to two major human settlements projects, anticipated to provide housing to almost 68,000 households.

The second priority intervention of the Recovery Plan is to support an increase in local production. The government aims to make South African exports globally competitive and reduce local reliance on imports by 20 percent over the next five years.

The president also said BBBEE policies must be implemented to advance control over and management of the economy.

"In December 2020, government and its social partners signed the historic Eskom Social Compact, which outlines the necessary actions we must take, collectively and as individual constituencies, to meet the country’s energy needs now and into the future."

The government will be initiating the procurement of an additional 11,800 megawatts of power from renewable energy, natural gas, battery storage and coal.

Eskom has estimated that without additional capacity, there will be an electricity supply shortfall of between 4,000 and 6,000 megawatts over the next five years.

The government will be issuing a request for proposals for 2,600 megawatts from wind and solar energy as part of Bid Window 5, followed by another bid window in August 2021.

Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act will be amended within the next three months to increase the licensing threshold for embedded generation, he said.

Ramaphosa said the Presidential State-Owned Enterprises Council has outlined a set of reforms that will enable SOEs to fulfil their mandate for growth and development.

"The mandates of all SOEs are being re-evaluated to ensure that they are responsive to the country’s needs and the implementation of the National Development Plan."

eNCA