SAfrica allocates billions to reduce recession impact

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa has allocated an extra 78 billion rand over the next three years to reduce the impact of its first recession in 17 years, the National Treasury said on Tuesday.

President Jacob Zuma is under pressure from disgruntled citizens to deliver on April election promises and ease a series of violent protests against the state's perceived inability to deliver basic sanitation and electricity services.

"The main budget makes available an additional 78 billion for allocation to new priorities or to respond to new pressures over the next three years," the Treasury said in its Medium Term Budget Policy Statement tabled in parliament.

"There is public dissatisfaction with the poor quality of service delivery and high levels of wasteful expenditure and inefficiency in government," it said.

South Africa will maintain its public infrastructure spending programme over the next three years, totalling 872 billion rand and seen as vital to counteract a deeper recession.

Capital expenditure at state-owned enterprises Eskom , Transnet and the National Roads Agency is expected to make up slightly more than half the total at 441 billion rand between 2009 and 2012.

The Treasury said the fight against HIV and Aids is a key priority and treatment uptake will soon exceed more than 300,000 new entrants a year, with an estimated 900,000 people receiving antiretroviral treatment by March 2010.

"Government expenditure on HIV and Aids programmes has increased from 1.1 billion rand in 2005/06 to 4.4 billion rand in 2009/10," the Treasury said.

South Africa has among the world's heaviest HIV caseloads.