SA’s economy is a ‘no-growth zone’- and the jobs crisis is just the start

ALTHOUGH the JSE’s All Share was, as of this morning, up more than 100% since the year that Covid-19 killed millions and hit global economies hard, and the rand has lost incredible ground against the dollar in recent history, South Africa won't hit enough economic growth to fulfill the business and government partnership of a million jobs this year.

- NICOLA MAWSON

This, says Dr Azar Jammine, director and chief economist at Econometrix, is because there are simply too many physical and structural impediments. Citing issues such as logjams at ports, inadequate education, high levels of crime, and continuing spatial inequalities, he says the growth target is “not happening,’ and South Africa is also not currently a good investment destination, despite the local currency looking attractive from a dollar perspective.

Jammine explains that investors will not get enough return on their money, even though the rand has weakened considerably over time because there simply isn’t gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

While overall GDP figures for 2024 are not yet available, Statistics South Africa data shows that growth measured by production, increased by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, following a decrease of 0.1% in the third quarter of 2024.