There have been several economic developments in recent weeks. This statement seeks to provide some context to these developments, and inform the public about government interventions to stimulate inclusive growth. On June 1 2017, Fitch affirmed South Africa’s long term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘BB+’ ratings with stable outlook. S&P followed on June 2 2017 and affirmed the long term foreign currency debt rating at ‘BB+’ and long term local currency debt rating at ‘BBB-’ with negative outlook. As reported earlier in the week, GDP contracted 0.7% between the first quarter of 2017 and the fourth quarter of 2016. This followed a contraction of 0.3% between the fourth and the third quarter of 2016. This trend unfortunately implies that our economy has entered into a recession. In this context, our 2017 growth projection of 1.3% may not be realised. This continues the trend of low growth over the last several years, undermining our progress in significantly reducing ineq...
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