The South African Revenue Service (Sars) is projecting a revenue collection shortfall of R250 billion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) this during a sitting on Tuesday morning.
Dlamini-Zuma briefed them on government’s response to the pandemic as well as the effects of the pandemic and the lockdown on the nation.
Dlamini-Zuma painted a bleak picture of what the long-lasting impact of the virus would be.
She said it had further revealed the deep fault lines in South African society like inequality and poverty.
“We’ve seen hunger, poverty, unemployment, and just condition under which our people live, and we can no longer hide from that,” Dlamini-Zuma said.
The minister said the easing of the lockdown to level 3 was necessary to lighten the economic aftermath of the virus.
“We’ve seen how the livelihoods of people have been undermined and it is for that reason that we are now looking at opening the economy,” she said.