Following suit with the World Bank, the IMF has slashed SA’s economic growth forecasts for the next two years to below 1%. SA is still expected to record subdued growth in 2018, according to the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook, but increased political uncertainty is expected to weigh on confidence and investment. Economic growth for 2018 and 2019 was expected to remain below 1% at 0.9% for both years. This was a marked drop from the 1.1% previously expected for 2018 and the 1.6% expected for 2019. The IMF’s outlook was probably done way before SA’s latest attempts to bring political certainty. It was unlikely to have taken the most recent political developments into account. The election of Cyril Ramaphosa ANC president, together with his drastic moves at the weekend to bring stability at power utility Eskom, could have been steps in the right direction and could have improved market confidence, said Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop. But despite the recent developments, D...
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