World Bank lowers SA’s growth forecasts
The World Bank also warns that Cyril Ramaphosa’s economic stimulus plan will have a limited impact
The World Bank has revised SA’s growth forecasts down for this year and next, and has taken a dim view of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s economic stimulus plan. While the forecasts are higher than those of the Reserve Bank and many analysts, the World Bank now expects growth of 1.0% in 2018, down from 1.4%. Growth forecasts were lowered from 1.8% to 1.3% in 2019, and from 1.9% to 1.7% in 2020. “Growth is expected to remain subdued in 2019, as domestic demand is constrained by high unemployment and slow growth in credit extension to households, and as fiscal consolidation limits government spending,” the World Bank said in its regional economic outlook for Africa released on Wednesday. “The higher growth in 2020 reflects the expectation that the government’s structural reform agenda will gradually gather speed, helping to boost investment growth, as policy uncertainty recedes.” The World Bank also warned that Ramaphosa’s economic stimulus plan will have a limited impact. The plan was an...
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