ANC statement on 2021 04 GDP data
10 March 2022
The African National Congress (ANC) notes the announcement by Statistics South Africa that the economy grew by 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021. This was after gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk by 1.7% in the third quarter of last year, mainly due to the violent unrest in July that had a broad negative impact on economic activity.
Overall, according to Stats SA, South Africa's economy saw growth of 4.9% last year compared to the record Covid-19 driven contraction of 6.4% in 2020. There were improvements in a number of sectors: agricultural production expanded by 11.2%, thanks to the good rains we have seen over the last 12 months and the hard work of our farmers and the workers they employ. Manufacturing, services and transport also expanded.
Whilst we acknowledge the statistical base effect of the 4.9% growth, we need to maintain this economic growth level. The current data is evidence that our economy is on the road to recovery, although the rate of current and future economic growth is insufficient to achieve our aim of reducing unemployment, poverty and inequality.
Worryingly, the data release showed that half of the sectors that make up the economy were in contraction in the fourth quarter of 2021. Mining production fell by 3.1%, while the construction, electricity, govemment and finance sectors also fell. We also note with concem that the overall size of the economy remains smaller than what it was before the pandemic struck in early 2020.