'Thieves were waiting at the door': Mboweni ends emergency PPE procurement

Ramaphosa also noted that the office of the Auditor-General had been helpful in "identifying weaknesses and risks in the management of Covid resources". The AG has been detecting cases of possible fraud for investigation, he said.

Recovery plan on the way

The president also gave a brief update on the next stage of the country's economic recovery plan, after meeting with the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President's Coordinating Council and the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) earlier this week.

Cabinet was looking to finalise the plan in the "coming weeks", he said, without providing additional detail.

Earlier on Wednesday labour federation Cosatu, which is a member of Nedlac, sent out a statement saying that there was "convergence" between government, labour and business on most areas to rebuild the economy.

The country's economy is set to contract anywhere between 7% and 13% this year - the worst performance in 90 years.

Stats SA last week reported that for the second quarter, the country's economy contracted by 16% on a non-annualised basis for the second quarter of the year.

Other key economic takeaways from Ramaphosa's addressThe move to alert level 1 will take effect from midnight on Sunday, September 20The sale of alcohol at retail outlets for home consumption will now be permitted from Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00.Venues for exercise, recreation and entertainment - such as gyms and theatres - which were limited to no more than 50 people, will now be allowed to accommodate up to 50% of their venue's capacity, subject to social distancing and other health protocols.The state will be opening its borders to international travel business and leisure from October 1. A restricted number of border posts and airports ill be in use, and travellers will have to present a recent negative Covid-19 test result on arrival, or else remain in quarantine. Ramaphosa said Cabinet was looking to finalise the country's economic reconstruction and recovery plan in the "coming weeks", which would build on the state initial R500 billion stimulus package. Talks over what direction the plan should take have been taking place at Nedlac. The president encourage all companies to make use of the R200 billion loan guarantee scheme. The scheme has been criticised for its low uptake.