BDLive reports that Statistics SA’s quarterly financial statistics show that the government has managed to lower real employment cost growth by more than 28% year on year from its peak in the second quarter of 2015.  

This equates to about R8.5bn in employee cost-related savings in the first half of 2016 compared with a year ago.  "This is a significant achievement given the higher inflation environment," said BNP Paribas Securities economist Jeffrey Schultz, who added that the results over the past 12 months were “encouraging."  Such sentiments chime with the assurances given to Parliament earlier in October by Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi that the government was on track to meet its target of cutting R25bn from state expenditure, including its wage bill, over three years.

• Read this report by Claire Bisseker in full at BDLive

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