South Africa’s economy is expected to grow by 3% by 2017 as the country has taken several steps to address the challenge of energy, says Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene.
He said the growth of the economy will be influenced by more electricity coming onto the grid, the improvement of consumer spending and the rise in trade with the rest of Africa.
“Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of 2015 was at 1.3% quarter-on-quarter on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis, highlighting the negative impact of the energy challenges,” Minister Nene said.
He said South Africa is making good progress in areas such as ports reform, the introduction of a single transport regulator, broadband rollout and the reform of key state-owned enterprises such as South African Airways (SAA) and Eskom.
Government has also had success in putting in place policies that target job creation such as the Jobs Fund, Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI).
Minister Nene said government has committed itself to narrowing the budget deficit and stabilising debt by introducing and sticking to expenditure ceilings and taking measures to raise revenue.
Limiting the rate of spending has been done while protecting spending in key areas such as education and health.
