[LISTEN] South Africans should brace for a recession, 6% GDP contraction
The Minister for Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel has warned that South Africans should brace for a recession with GDP expected to contract by about 6% in 2020.
Patel hosted a virtual briefing on government's response to the potential negative impact of Covid-19 on the economy and the measures considered to mitigate against it on Saturday.
"Big job losses are projected and a number of firms are vulnerable to closure with high levels of social hardships," said Patel.
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Listen to Patel below:
Patel said while the statistics were hard to pin down, it's predicted that the Covid-19 pandemic's economic impact would be devastating.
"What all of our work has done is that it's indicate that the pandemic will affect the South African economy in very deep and significant ways," said Patel.
Listen to Patel below: