SA in danger of missing its low growth target, Zuma warns
The president bemoans the opposition's use of courts, and says the debate about the capture of the state requires a thorough analysis of the economy
Discussions on the economy at the ANC's national policy conference have to be centred on how to reignite growth, President Jacob Zuma said in his opening address on Friday. SA is in a technical recession, after the economy contracted in the first quarter. "At the time of the budget in February the economy was expected to grow at a low 1.3% in 2017. Given the current difficulties, even this low growth rate may not be achieved," Zuma said. However, to counter this, he said the ANC policy conference was also taking place against the background of "good progress" that has been made in the country in the past 23 years. Zuma sent the economy into a tail spin earlier this year when he removed Pravin Gordhan as finance minister as well as his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, in a late-night Cabinet reshuffle. He replaced Gordhan with Malusi Gigaba. Shortly after this some rating agencies downgraded the country's sovereign credit rating to junk status. This was blamed on the reshuffle and political un...
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