Mining and factory output falls
Uncertainties about sector regulation blamed for fourth-quarter decline, as manufacturing production drops too
Mining production contracted 4% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and economists said uncertainty around policy, specifically the Mining Charter, contributed to the decline and to a restrained investment environment.Manufacturing production shrank 1.1% in the last quarter of 2016, which overshot prior predictions of a decline. Mining output decreased 1.9% in December. The sector has posted year-on-year output declines every month since October 2015. Manufacturing production, in comparison, fell 2% in December 2016.Mining and manufacturing are significant contributors to GDP and account for a large portion of the workforce.On Thursday Econometrix director Azar Jammine said: "Both results are disappointing. It’s going to impact the first quarter negatively."Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan singled out the new Mining Charter and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act as having contributed to the contraction in mining because the uncertainty they created had resulted in disinv...
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