SA economy: The picture is brightening
Indicators in many sectors are positive, and, despite some misgivings, commentators are mostly optimistic about the SA economy, writes Stafford Thomas
Just six months ago South Africans were in despair, weary of widespread corruption, political intrigue and a no-growth economy. But that negativity has been replaced by optimism. Consumers are leading the charge, in which retailers stand to be big winners. Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as ANC leader in December brought the first ray of hope. It was followed by the ousting of Jacob Zuma, who had held office as president for nine years. Other good news flooded the economy in the first quarter of this year: Moody’s decision not to downgrade SA’s sovereign debt, strong moves by Ramaphosa to put an end to corruption and upward revisions of SA’s GDP growth prospects. National treasury’s forecast, disclosed by former finance minister Malusi Gigaba in his budget speech in February, is for the GDP to grow by 1.5% in 2018. This is more than double the 0.7% forecast in the medium-term budget policy statement in October. US investment bank Goldman Sachs is even more upbeat, forecasting SA’s GDP gr...
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