DUMA GQUBULE: SA is out of money and out of ideas
Almost six months after the start of a lockdown that has triggered SA’s biggest economic contraction, the government still has no recovery plan
Almost six months after President Cyril Ramaphosa implemented a lockdown which triggered the country’s deepest economic contraction yet, the government still does not have a recovery plan. According to Stats SA GDP plunged by a seasonally adjusted but not annualised rate of 16.4% during the second quarter of 2020. The annualised figure was a shocking 51% (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/economy/2020-09-08-sa-economy-shrinks-by-more-than-half-in-second-quarter/).
Nedbank is now forecasting a higher GDP contraction of 9%-9.5%, compared with a previous estimate of 8.1%. “Covid-19 lockdown had a devastating impact on consumer income, confidence and the ability to spend,” the bank said. According to the UN Development Programme. “It may take at least five years for the economy to return to pre-2019 levels unless innovative actions are implemented.”..
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