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South Africa records marginal Q1 growth on back of power crisis

Published

4 months ago

June 6, 2023

Despite a steep power crisis, South Africa recorded marginal economic growth in 2023 which helped it escape recession in the period.

According to the official state data source, eight of the ten industries experienced growth between January and March, with manufacturing and finance, real estate, and business services contributing the most. Manufacturing output increased by 1,5%, adding 0,2 of a percentage point to GDP growth. The production of food and beverages was the main catalyst behind the industry’s positive showing.

The transport sector was inspired by the rise in rail freight and rail passenger transport while the storage & communication industry expanded by 1,1%.

Finance, real estate & business services grew by 0,6%, mainly driven by financial intermediation, insurance & pension funding, real estate and business services. Personal services also increased by 0.8%, owing to increased community service activity.

South Africa’s Statistician-General, Risenga Maluleke said food and drinks manufacturing had performed particularly well, partly because the sector was not as electricity-intensive as other types of manufacturing.

“Household consumption was driven largely by restaurants and hotels, and when you look at that, with load-shedding (power cuts), where do people get their food? They have to call on Uber Eats or order from restaurants,” Maluleke said.

Meanwhile, experts have argued that the economic situation remains dire despite the marginal growth.

An economist, Jason Tuvey quoted by Reuters, said “The outlook remains bleak. Severe power cuts, tight fiscal and monetary policy and a worsening external backdrop mean that the economy is likely to merely stagnate this year.”

As one of Africa’s most industrialized economies, power outages have posed a threat to businesses and the country’s overall economy. South Africa’s state utility firm, Eskom recently announced that its power rotation had been suspended “until further notice”.

Related Topics:Economy growth Featured South Africa

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Nigeria’s intra-Africa trade increased by 40.8% to N1.84 trillion

Published

5 hours ago

September 24, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s trade with the rest of Africa increased from N1.306 trillion in 2022 to N1.839 trillion in the first half of 2023.

The increase represents a 40.8 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) in the first half of 2023, a reversal in the declining trend of the nation’s intra-African trade over the same period since 2020, in terms of value.

According ro the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Nigeria’s intra-African trade in H1’21 amounted to N1.47 trillion out of total foreign trade of N21.79 trillion; and N1.67 trillion in H1’20 out of N14.55 trillion total foreign trade recorded within the period.

The NBS data on Nigeria’s external trade with the rest of Africa also indicates that the intra-Africa trade is gaining more ground against total foreign trade recorded by the country in the past three years.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that Nigeria’s intra-African trade totalled N1.47 trillion in H1’21 and N1.67 trillion in H1’20 out of the total international trade recorded during those period, which was N14.55 trillion.

The NBS statistics on Nigeria’s external trade data with the rest of Africa also shows that intra-African trade is growing faster than overall international trade recorded by the nation during the previous three years.

The N1.839 trillion recorded in H1’23 represents 7.42 percent of the total foreign trade of N24.789 trillion recorded in the period.

Comparatively, the N1.306 trillion recorded in H1’22 represented 5.05 percent of the N25.843 trillion total foreign trade during that time; the N1.47 trillion recorded in H1’21 represented 6.75 percent of the N21.79 trillion total foreign trade during that time; and the N1.67 trillion recorded in H1’20 represented 11.48 percent of the N14.55 trillion total foreign trade during that time.

About 7.42% of the N24.789 trillion in total foreign trade that was registered throughout the period, or N1.839 trillion, was transacted during H1’23.

Africa’s GDP and its internal trade expanded fourfold over the past two decades, according to the report, which suggests that that intra-African trade is more resilient than exchanges with other regions of the world,

Africa’s trade and regional integration face several obstacles. Transportation and communication infrastructure for intra-African trade is less developed than those that connect Africa to the rest of the world.

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Somalia to secure debt relief by December— IMF

Published

16 hours ago

September 24, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Multilateral lender, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that Somalia is on the verge of securing full debt relief from it and and other creditors.

IMF said the relief would be granted by December following recent reforms to boost domestic revenue collection and transparency in management of public finances.

Despite the difficulty, Somalia has nearly all the requirements satisfied to be eligible for the entire debt relief, and lenders have already agreed to forgive up to 76.8% of Somalia’s total debt, but more work needs to be done, according to Laura Jaramillo, who led the IMF staff.

The lender stated that despite several challenges, Somalia has made great progress in implementing suggested changes meant to revive the economy following the most recent assessment of the country’s performance under the Extended Credit Facility agreement.

“The reforms, which are supposed to ensure good use of public resources to maximally benefit the Somali citizens, and to boost economic growth, which in turn is expected to enable the creation of more job opportunities, are already bearing fruits,” the lender said.

The level of indebtedness in African countries is at its highest in more than a decade, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and skyrocketing inflation. African nations were forced to incur even more debt, and as a result, 21 low-income African nations are currently either insolvent or at great risk of experiencing debt hardship.

Apart from Somalia, some other African countries have so far formally defaulted on their national debt. Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Chad, among others, successfully applied for a debt restructuring plan under the G20 framework.