In the wake of the financial crisis and the ensuing period of austerity, there has been a renewed interest in the working poor in developed countries, including the US and the UK. In the US, in particular there are concerns about the rising number of people who have two or three different jobs but who still cannot make ends meet.
There are strong hints that the South Africa government will raise the value-added tax (VAT) rate rather than increase income tax rates following the release of an interim report on VAT by a committee led by an eminent judge.
According to a recent survey, South Africa’s business confidence index dropped 2.3 points in June, marking the largest decline in over 16 years. The economy is undergoing a productivity issue, especially in the wake of high electricity prices and numerous power outages. South Africa’s tourism index also dropped in the second quarter, due to new visa restrictions that are keeping many tourists at bay.
South Africa’s energy sector has faced a crisis since 2008, marked by power cuts, high tariffs and a general inability to match supply and demand. This has led to the painting of a dismal picture about the future of the country’s energy supply and its impact on economic growth.
South Africa’s economy fell short of expectations in the first few months of 2015, growing at an annual rate of 1.3 percent, a stark contrast to 4.1 percent growth from the previous quarter. Analysts forecasted GDP growth of at least 1.7 percent.
South Africa’s trade deficit turned into a trade surplus for the first time in 10 months in December 2014. Exports increased while imports of both machinery and oil declined.
In an e-mail from the Pretoria-based South African Revenue Service, the trade surplus stood at 6.8 billion rand ($586 million US) compared to a revised shortage of 5.3 billion rand back in November. The average estimate from 14 economists was for a surplus of roughly 1.8 billion rand.
Evidence has recently arisen that South Africa’s emerging electricity bill could threaten just about everything within the region, from sovereign debt to swimming pools. On almost a daily basis, consumers within South Africa are required to:
* Turn off their pool pumps
* Switch off their water heaters
* Shut down just about anything that could save power through peak periods
The economy of South Africa has recently escaped recession within the second quarter of this year, although figures still show economic growth within the region to be relatively weak. Crippled, in particular, by the strike action that took place within the platinum sector for the initial half of 2014, real domestic product (GDP) has managed to grow by an increase of 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted, annualized, and quarter-on-quarter basis within the second quarter.
More than a quarter of South Africa’s labour force are now out of work, according to official statistics published on Monday, as the country continues to struggle with the global economic recession caused by the 2008 financial crisis.
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the jobless rate increased from 24.9 percent in the previous three months to 25.2 percent, with the number of people without jobs rising by 100,000 to 4.6 million.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has warned the West that it needs to change its “colonial” approach towards Africa or risk losing to competition from China and other developing nations.
In an interview published in the Financial Times on Monday, Zuma said businesses and governments in the West have a “psychological problem” and are still prone to lecturing Africa from positions of strength where they could “make the rules”.
