Growth forecast might be optimistic, says Pravin Gordhan
The finance minister says while growth figures may prove to be wrong, the Treasury is transparent
Treasury officials defended the budget’s growth forecasts on Thursday though Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan conceded his department "tends to be a little optimistic" in this regard. A Treasury team led by Gordhan briefed members of four parliamentary committees on the 2017-18 budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. Treasury has forecast growth of 1.3% for 2017, 2% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019, forecasts that are higher than the consensus estimates of economists and the Reserve Bank. Replying to a question by DA finance spokesman David Maynier on the credibility of Treasury’s growth forecast, Gordhan said he did not think credibility was an issue. Macroeconomists were also being criticised for not getting their forecasts right. "The key thing is that we are transparent," he added. Gordhan said "if the growth engine does not kick in, then transformation becomes more difficult. The low growth trap that we are finding ourselves in is not helping." A new economic model and the restructuri...
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