Cape Town – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised down South Africa’s economic growth outlook for 2024 from an initial estimate of 1.8% to 1%.
The downgrade is attributed to increasing logistical constraints, including disruptions to ports, rails, and chronic power cuts.
IMF Growth Forecast: 2024
🇺🇸USA: 2.1%
🇩🇪Germany: 0.5%
🇫🇷France: 1.0%
🇮🇹Italy: 0.7%
🇪🇸Spain: 1.5%
🇯🇵Japan: 0.9%
🇨🇦Canada: 1.4%
🇨🇳China: 4.6%
🇮🇳India: 6.5%
🇷🇺Russia: 2.6%
🇧🇷Brazil: 1.7%
🇲🇽Mexico: 2.7%
🇸🇦KSA: 2.7%
🇳🇬Nigeria: 3.0%
🇿🇦 South Africa: 1.0%https://t.co/wiP1MGMXIT pic.twitter.com/DNmGVlfra6— IMF (@IMFNews) January 30, 2024
The IMF’s Daniel Leigh said that the country is starting from a low economic base, estimating growth at 0.6% in 2023, EWN reported.
“0.6% is our estimation of what growth was in 2023, but then in 2024, we see a gradual increase towards 1%.
“That is a lower number than we had in October by 0.8%, but as those bottlenecks ease, we see growth going up to 1.3% next year,” the report quoted Leigh as saying.
According to Businesstech, IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas expressed caution regarding South Africa’s vulnerable fiscal position and high levels of public debt.
“We were talking about the need for fiscal consolidation for South Africa.
“There is a need also to put public spending under control and to raise tax revenues,” he said.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is scheduled to present the annual budget speech on February 21.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
