SOUTH Africa will not fall into recession this year despite a gloomy International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast and a contraction in the last three months of 2022, its finance minister told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
Africa’s most developed economy is the midst of a severe power crisis caused by a decline in state utility Eskom’s ability to meet electricity demand.
An escalation in rolling power cuts heavily impacted activity in most sectors at the end of last year, leading to a 1.3% contraction in the fourth quarter. And the IMF has cut its 2023 forecast and is now predicting only slight growth of 0.1%.
Those figures have sparked speculation that South Africa, which has struggled with years of anaemic growth, could slip into a recession.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that would
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