COSATU statement on the 2022 Fourth Quarter GDP numbers
7 March 2023
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted the latest GDP growth figures by Stats SA, showing the economy shrunk by 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022. These numbers are not shocking considering that load shedding, fuel price hikes, interest rate hikes, and budget cuts have acted as a drag on the economy for the last couple of months.
These numbers must serve as a wake-up call for South Africa. We cannot afford to continue to limp along and not undertake the decisive actions needed to grow the economy and create jobs. This should push the government to accelerate the implementation of the commitments made in the SONA and budget speech, in particular measures to ramp up maintenance of key Eskom power stations and bring new energy generation onto the grid.
The Federation hopes the government can start promoting investment in rural areas and the townships because economies are made up of people. There is a need to reduce the red tape and improve coordination between government agencies and departments that are supposed to help SMMEs.
In addition to targeting employment, the Reserve Bank should align its policy to industrial development, introduce foreign exchange controls, and impose quantitative controls on commercial banks to ensure that a quarter of their loans go to priority sectors that drive the growth path and create jobs on a larger scale. The government and the private sector need to come to the party and play their roles if we are to turn the economy around. Key interventions must include: