South Africa was not slipping into a recession despite taking substantial hits in a storm of global economic challenges, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan assured the public on Thursday, noting that government would implement new, stronger measures to build the nation’s resilience and ensure stability in a turbulent global environment.
Paltry economic growth of just above 1% was keeping the economy intact for now; however, the economy was not growing fast – or inclusively – enough, with the targeted 5% growth required to rapidly “change the [economic] picture”.
Gordhan planned to unveil Cabinet-endorsed measures to ensure a sustainable fiscal path that would stabilise South Africa’s economy, taking into account the weakened outlook for the global economy and its domestic consequences, during the National Budget on February 24.
“Depressed trade volumes and turbulence in global capital markets underscore the need for nations to build resilience and act cautiously in the period ahead,” Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe said following a special Cabinet meeting this week on the state of the economy and budget-related matters.
