Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan reaffirmed government’s commitment to the 20-year National Development Plan (NDP) in his 2014 Budget, while appealing for social partners to work together to “radically change” the economy by embracing structural reforms to accelerate growth, Engineering News reports.
Speaking a day after it was confirmed that the South African economy had expanded by only 1.9% in 2013 – yet another strike-afflicted year – Gordhan forecast that the gross domestic product (GDP) would expand by only 2.7% in 2014.
The forecast was more or less in line with the International Monetary Fund’s 2.8% projection for the year, but higher than a number of private-sector forecasts, with economists particularly concerned about the supply-side constraints posed by labour-market unrest and the country’s electricity and transport bottlenecks.
Read the full article here: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/gordhan-positions-ndp-at-heart-of-plan-to-improve-sas-growth-performance-2014-02-26/rep_id:3182
