SA’s GDP nosedives

The South African economy has suffered its worst quarterly GDP performance in 10 years, dropping by 3.2%.

The downturn has been caused by, among others:

– The failure of state-owned enterprises, such as Eskom and SAA
– A slump in manufacturing
– A major downturn in secondary industries, especially construction
– Year-on-year GDP growth of 0% – meaning the economy is stagnating
– Agriculture lost 13% of its output in the first three months of the year
– A decline in household spending: despite spending more on alcohol, food and restaurants, consumers have avoided buying new clothes (down 12.7%) and skimped on transport costs (down 3.1%)