Press Statement dated 4 December 2018
The Public Servants Association (PSA) welcomes the announcement that according to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for South Africa released by Statistician-General, Risenga Maluleka, on 4 December 2018, the South African economy grew by 2.2% taking the country out of recession.
Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) indicated that the growth is ascribed to the manufacturing, transport, trade and finance industries that have shown significant improvement. Expenditure on real GDP has also increased by 2.3%, following a 0.7% decrease in the last quarter.
“Despite concern about the mining, electricity and construction industries, the PSA is hopeful that the growth will have a positive effect on the economic outlook of the country and on the Public Service. The 2.2% growth is not yet where it is needed for the country to be able to address unemployment and inequalities, but it offers a good foundation and gives a glimmer of hope from what seemed to be a bleak picture of the economy,” said PSA Acting General Manager, Tahir Maepa.
Issued by Tahir Maepa, Deputy General Manager, Public Servants Association (PSA)