Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his budget vote on Wednesday, amid calls for him to speed up the vaccination programme, ignite growth in the economy and fight corruption in government.
Ramaphosa is also under pressure to deal with Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, following a number of allegations against him related to Digital Vibes.
The president said last week that he was waiting for the Special Investigating Unit report into the contracts linked to Digital Vibes.
Mkhize has denied that he benefited from the contracts.
But more reports have emerged against him.
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Last week, Ramaphosa hosted France President Emmanuel Macron. They discussed economic ties and the fight against Covid-19.
The president has been complaining against vaccine apartheid where rich countries hoard vaccines.
When he tables the Presidency budget vote, Ramaphosa is expected to outline the progress made to grow the economy.
This comes after Statistics South Africa released its latest report on Tuesday. It showed unemployment has grown to 32.6%. The jobs bloodbath has hit several sectors of the economy since Covid-19 struck the country early last year.
The ratings agencies, Fitch and S&P Global Ratings, kept South Africa’s outlook unchanged two weeks ago.
The agencies have called on South Africa to continue with structural reforms in the economy.
The issue of the vaccine rollout has also come under the spotlight with opposition parties blaming the government for the slow pace.
In the latest figures from the Department of Health, more than 479 000 health-care workers have been vaccinated and another 565 000 people have been given the Pfizer jab by Tuesday, bringing the total to 1 million people who have been vaccinated.
But political parties wanted a speedy rollout that would enable the government to reach population immunity of 67% by the end of the year.
Political Bureau