The government is concerned about the impact power outages had on the economy in the second quarter, as Stats SA prepares to release data for the three-month period.
“I am worried about [Tuesday's] stats,” minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele told reporters on Monday at the start of a cabinet strategic-planning meeting in Pretoria. “There has been huge load-shedding and we don’t know how it has impacted the economy.”
Stats SA will publish second-quarter GDP data at 11.30am. The economy is forecast to have shrunk 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the median estimate of 12 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
State power utility Eskom implemented electricity outages for more than half of the days in the second quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations, adding to the record blackouts in the financial year through March that hobbled economic output. President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC have been heavily criticised over their inability to resolve the problem, despite repeated promises to do so.
Gungubele said the cabinet will discuss the nation’s energy crisis, measures to cushion South Africans against the rising cost of living and the government’s spending plans before the National Treasury delivers its medium-term budget plan next month. Also on the agenda is how the economy can adapt to the rise in global interest rates, and growing anti-foreigner sentiment in the country, he said, without providing further details.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Load-shedding impact on GDP data a concern for government
Image: Bloomberg
The government is concerned about the impact power outages had on the economy in the second quarter, as Stats SA prepares to release data for the three-month period.
“I am worried about [Tuesday's] stats,” minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele told reporters on Monday at the start of a cabinet strategic-planning meeting in Pretoria. “There has been huge load-shedding and we don’t know how it has impacted the economy.”
Stats SA will publish second-quarter GDP data at 11.30am. The economy is forecast to have shrunk 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the median estimate of 12 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
State power utility Eskom implemented electricity outages for more than half of the days in the second quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations, adding to the record blackouts in the financial year through March that hobbled economic output. President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC have been heavily criticised over their inability to resolve the problem, despite repeated promises to do so.
Gungubele said the cabinet will discuss the nation’s energy crisis, measures to cushion South Africans against the rising cost of living and the government’s spending plans before the National Treasury delivers its medium-term budget plan next month. Also on the agenda is how the economy can adapt to the rise in global interest rates, and growing anti-foreigner sentiment in the country, he said, without providing further details.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
MORE:
SA’s economy at ‘almost unfixable’ point
PALI LEHOHLA | The Flight of the Flamingos has grounded SA economically
Plenty of doubters, but Mantashe remains bullish about 'Eskom 2.0'
Ramaphosa blames July 2021 unrest, Covid and floods for unemployment and slow economic growth
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos