Treasury allocates R9bn to SA’s Covid-19 vaccination plan

A R9 billion cash injection will go into South Africa’s much-anticipated Covid-19 vaccination programme, the National Treasury revealed in the 2021 Budget on Wednesday.

This is in addition to an initial amount of R1.3 billion already allocated for its current budgetary year, which takes the government’s current allocation to R10.3 billion.

“The budget funds a massive and free Covid-19 vaccination campaign,” Dondo Mogajane, director-general of the National Treasury says in the forward of the 2021 Budget Review document.

“Apart from the immediate health benefits for millions of South Africans, a successful vaccination programme will allow the economy to fully reopen,” he adds.

According to the 2021 Budget Review supporting document, the (additional) R9 billion for government’s “free mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign” will be allocated “in the medium term”.

Following an outcry around delays in government securing Covid-19 vaccines and the state revealing details on its roll-out plans, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced South Africa’s three-phase vaccine roll-out strategy in late January.

The plan aims to vaccinate 67% of the population over 12 months, however, it is unclear whether the R10.3 billion now currently allocated will be sufficient for this.

“Vaccines will play a pivotal role in saving lives and livelihoods, and supporting economic recovery. Ensuring access to Covid-19 vaccines is government’s immediate priority,” the Budget Review notes.

“Funding for vaccine procurement and rollout is drawn from the national budget. Since the state is procuring vaccines on behalf of both the public and private sectors, some revenue will return to the fiscus when private providers buy vaccines from the state,” it further points out.

“Government allocated R1.3 billion in the current year [2020/2021] for vaccine purchases,” the Review says.

“Given uncertainty around final costs, an estimated R9 billion could be drawn on from the contingency reserve and emergency allocations, bringing total potential funding for the vaccination programme to about R19.3 billion,” it adds.

Treasury says that of the new R9 billion allocation for the vaccine rollout, the Department of Health will be allocated R6.5 billion to procure and distribute vaccines.

The second biggest tranche of the roll-out allocation, some R2.4 billion, will go to provincial health departments “to administer vaccines”.

Meanwhile, the balance (R100 million) will go to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) for vaccine research.

Treasury has also allocated R50 million to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) for a Covid-19 vaccination rollout communications campaign. However, it is unclear whether this funding will come from the R9 billion new allocation.

As part of the new R9 billion allocation, the Budget Review points out that national department allocations are ring-fenced.

“Additional allocations are made through the Covid-19 component of the HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and community outreach grant introduced in the June 2020 special adjustments budget,” it says.