Economy / General

Another stellar contribution by agriculture to SA’s GDP outcomes in the 2nd quarter of 2020

Following a good start to 2020 with first quarter agriculture GDP rebounding strongly by 28.6% quarter-on-quarter (q/q) seasonally adjusted annualised, the sector posted another impressive growth of 15% in the second quarter of 2020 which made it the only positive contributor with a 0.3 of a percentage point.

Financial advice critical as government enters self-inflicted debt and growth spirals

The slower than anticipated relaxation of South Africa’s lockdown restrictions will result in the country posting a worse GDP growth number than forecast by either National Treasury or the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). Asset manager, STANLIB South Africa, has pencilled in an 8.6% contraction in GDP for the full year, alongside expectations of a staggering 40% fall in quarter-on-quarter growth for the second quarter. “We expect growth to rebound by 2.9% in 2021,” said Ndivhuho Netshitenzhe, economist at STANLIB; but it could take at least three years for the economy to recover to 2019 levels. She was presenting during a media webinar, hosted by Liberty, to introduce a report titled COVID-19 Future Trends.

Business closures herald a looming disaster

Company liquidations and employee retrenchments are a stark reminder of the extensive and continuing impact on economic activity of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown.

COVID-19 growth slump hits the economy in the second quarter