TOP STORY – GDP shock as SA economy shrinks 1.3%
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GUEST – Risenga Maluleke, statistician-general and head of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA
South Africa's economy shrank by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, much worse than economists expected. It is also the largest contraction since the third quarter of 2021, when deadly riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng caused massive economic disruption. Economists polled by Reuters expected GDP to shrink by only 0.4% for the last quarter of 2022. Seven of the 10 South African industries contracted in the last three months of 2022, Statistics SA reported on Tuesday. Record levels of power outages took a heavy toll, with only two days without load shedding in the whole quarter. Over half of the quarter's load shedding was Stage 3 and above.
South Africa's economy shrank by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, much worse than economists expected. It is also the largest contraction since the third quarter of 2021, when deadly riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng caused massive economic disruption. Economists polled by Reuters expected GDP to shrink by only 0.4% for the last quarter of 2022. Seven of the 10 South African industries contracted in the last three months of 2022, Statistics SA reported on Tuesday. Record levels of power outages took a heavy toll, with only two days without load shedding in the whole quarter. Over half of the quarter's load shedding was Stage 3 and above.
