SA’s economic growth in the first quarter of 2018 is expected to take a knock after a dire start to the year for the mining and manufacturing sectors. Data from Stats SA released on Thursday painted a gloomy picture. In the first quarter of the year manufacturing decreased by 1.6% while mining production decreased by 3.4%. Both sectors are significant contributors to GDP. SA is estimated to have the world’s fifth largest mining sector in terms of its contribution to economic growth, contributing 8% to the country’s economy in 2017. Manufacturing contributed 13%, but this is significantly lower than its 24% contribution in the 1980s. Contractions in both sectors do not bode well for economic growth. Despite growth revisions upwards from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in 2018, Capital Economics economist John Ashbourne said the economy seems to have stumbled in the first quarter. He added that strong economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 created a hig...
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