South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.7% in the first quarter of this year. Since it is the second consecutive quarter that there is a negative growth, the country is officially in a recession. The negative growth in the last quarter of 2016 was 0.3%, which indicates that the negative growth is gaining momentum.
The fact that the country’s economy has been declared junk status by the major rating agencies can be argued as one of the causes. Meanwhile, productivity is at a low and is fueled by strikes and violent protests.
According to Statistics South Africa, GDP has been measured on a yearly basis by only 1%.
However, one sector that has grown dramatically is agriculture 22.2%, followed by mining by 12.8%. These two sectors could not keep the economy as a whole out of the red.
FF Plus’s Adv. Anton Alberts said in this response that South Africa’s “thieving circus government” is responsible for the country’s growth being muted to a fraction of what it could be under a responsible president and government.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
