South Africa’s economy is back at the size it was before the coronavirus pandemic struck, following quicker than anticipated growth in the first quarter.
The country’s gross domestic product increased by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2022, noted statistician general Risenga Maluleke on Tuesday , adding that in the first three months of the year, the manufacturing industry increased by 4.9%, contributing 0.6 of a percentage point to GDP growth.
Still, Bloomberg said that the country’s economy is trapped in a downward spiral and hasn’t grown by more than 3% annually since 2012. “Policy paralysis, weak business sentiment and high levels of crime continue to weigh on fixed investment spending, with companies wary of committing large sums of money to domestic projects,” it said.
Overall, the data showed that real GDP is now about 0.5% above the pre-pandemic 4Q19 level, indicating a faster recovery than initially envisaged, said Sithole. Sanisha Packirisamy, an economist at Momentum, said that growth momentum should moderate in the second quarter as extensive flood damage in KwaZulu-Natal and a higher incidence of load shedding curbed economic activity.
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