FULL TEXT: President Ramaphosa's economic recovery plan speech

Ministers,

Senior Officials,

Members of the Media,

Fellow South Africans,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the State of the Nation Address in February, we announced a range of measures that we would initiate to set the country on a new path of growth, employment and transformation.

Since then, we have taken decisive steps to rebuild investor confidence, end corruption and state capture, restore good governance at state owned enterprises and strengthen critical public institutions.

Yet, as is evident from the contraction of our economy in the first two quarters of the year, our economic difficulties are severe and will take an extraordinary effort - and some time - to overcome.

For several years our economy has not grown at the pace needed to create enough jobs or lift our people out of poverty.

Public finances have been constrained, limiting the ability of government to expand its investment in economic and social development.

In recent months, the structural weaknesses in our economy have been made worse by global factors such as a rising oil price, weakening sentiment towards emerging markets and deteriorating trade relations between the US and other major economies.

This has negatively affected South Africans.