Economist Dawie Roodt has warned that the South African economy will remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.
This after the country’s recession deepened in the first quarter of 2020.
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The South African economy recorded its third consecutive quarter of economic decline, falling by 2,0% in Q1:2020.#StatsSA #GDP #economy pic.twitter.com/ahJRFtCkTF— Stats SA (@StatsSA) June 30, 2020
Official data released on Tuesday showed that gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 2% from the previous three months, led by declines in mining and manufacturing.
The economy was already frail before the coronavirus pandemic hit South Africa in March, with January-March being the third consecutive quarter of contraction and following a 1.4% decline in GDP in October-December.
The latest data nevertheless beat analysts’ expectations for a contraction of 3.8 in the first quarter.
Below is the full report from StatsSA:
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Roodt blames government for not putting relevant policies in place.
“The private sector has been affected by things such as the lockdown and a lack of electricity and a very inefficient state. Yes, there’s more than one player in the economy but I have very little doubt that if they want to blame somebody for the problems that we are experiencing, it must be government for the wrong policies,” explains Roodt.