SOUTH Africa has extended by a further three months the deadline of a loan scheme that is central to efforts to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Treasury. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the bank loan scheme for businesses, worth up to 200 billion rand ($13.72 billion) in total and partly guaranteed by the government, in April 2020. The availability of the loans in the scheme has been extended to July 11, from an earlier deadline of April 11, the Treasury said in a statement issued jointly with the South African Reserve Bank and the country's…