According to figures released by the government agency Statics South
Africa today, "the seasonally adjusted real GDP at market prices for
the third quarter of 2008 increased by an annualised slower rate of 0.2
percent compared with the second quarter of 2008, following real
annualised economic growth rates of 1.6 (revised from 2.1) and 5.1
(revised from 4.9) percent in the first and second quarters of 2008
compared with the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008
respectively."
The government statistics bureau pointed at the main contributors to
the low growth in economic activity for this quarter being finance,
real estate and business services and construction industries, saying
each only contributed 0.6 of a percentage point; the transport, storage
and communication and general government industries (each contributing
0.5 of a percentage point).
The agency also said sectors like agriculture, forestry and fishing
also went down, contributing 0.4 of a percentage point. "The
contributions to the low growth in real GDP by all other industries
were either lower or negative than the aforementioned industries, these
were manufacturing (-1.1 percentage points); wholesale and retail
trade, hotels and restaurants (-0.9 of a percentage point); mining and
quarrying (-0.4 of a percentage point); electricity, gas and water (0.1
of a percentage point) and personal services (0.3 of a percentage
point)," the agency added.
Statistics SA also mentioned that seasonally adjusted real annualised
value added by the non-agricultural industries decreased by 0.1 percent
during the third quarter of 2008, following annualised increases of 1.1
percent as revised from 1.5 and 5.0 percent revised from 4.7 during the
first and second quarters of 2008 respectively.
It however noted that the unadjusted real GDP at market prices for the
first nine months of 2008 increased by 3.7 percent compared with the
first nine months of 2007, which was at 5.1 percent.
South Africa officially revised its growth forecast last month from 4.0
percent to 3.7 percent as an indication the country was beginning to
feel the consequences of the global crunch.
Economists in South Africa have already called to tough remedial
measures, saying the outlook is not very positive for at least for the
next two quarters.
Part of the seemingly economic bubble burst has been attributed to
disturbances on the national power grid earlier this year, which
crippled much of the manufacturing and mining sectors.
South Africa, which has been seen as an economic power house of Africa
since its return to democracy in 1994, is currently facing un uphill
battle to create employment for its citizens with unofficial figures
putting the country’s unemployment rate at about 40 percent.