2023-06-06 11:46:00
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published update
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South Africa recorded modest growth in the first quarter of 2023, casting off the specter of a recession, according to data released by the national statistics agency on Tuesday. The most industrialized country in Africa thus saw its GDP grow by 0.4% over the first three months of the year, following a decline of 1.1% in the last quarter of 2022 (revised figures), specified the StatsSA agency in a press release. “Manufacturing and financial industries were the main drivers of growth on the supply side“, she detailed. Demand was driven in particular by exports.
Growth, exceeding analysts’ expectations, was there despite the major power cuts that continue to penalize activity. There electricity crisis has in fact worsened in South Africa since last year, with scheduled load shedding sometimes lasting up to 12 hours a day. Power outages reached a record level in 2022 with 207 days of outages compared to 75 in 2021. According to estimates by the Minister of Energy, they generate more than 50 million dollars per day in lost production. However, eight out of ten industrial sectors saw their activity increase in the first quarter, only agriculture and the electricity, gas and water sector fell, according to StatsSA. The mining sector got off to a good start following a disappointing end to 2022, she added.
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