LIVE | Covid-19 has caused 'great hardship and suffering' says Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa says the pandemic has caused "great hardship and suffering". 

Ramaphosa notes he is presenting the plan seven months after SA declared a national state of disaster. 

"The reality we must confront is that the pandemic will not be over soon". 

The president says the plan will also accelerate economic reforms, "fight crime and corruption" and improve the state's capability. 

These are all linked to the National Development Plan, he says. 

The president says the joint sitting will hear his plan for the reconstruction and recovery of the economy "following the devastation caused by Covid-19". 

It must be an "inclusive and new economy', he says. 

The priority is to create jobs via infrastructure and mass employment, while reindustrializing. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday afternoon address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament to present an economic recovery plan for South Africa. 

In the second quarter of the year, South Africa shed 2.2 million jobs while GDP contracted by a record 16.4%. Business confidence and manufacturing production also plunged, although both are starting to show some improvements. 

Ramaphosa will be basing his plan on consultations with Cabinet and various advisory bodies and panels. 

Ahead of President release, the SA Communist Party called on Ramaphosa to speak to the root of the matter.

“To be meaningful, the address should decisively tackle not only the effects, but also the causes of, and the economic and broader social development problems that South Africa faces,” the SCAP said in a statement.

The party called for systemic and structural economic policy change, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the country’s worsening unemployment crisis, poverty and inequality.