For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: The South African economy shrank by 7% in 2020, KZN to implement Provincial Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and, Motsoaledi signs partnership to eradicate asylum backlog in SA

The South African economy shrank by 7% in 2020,

The South African economy contracted by 7% during 2020, as expected given the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on economies worldwide.

Statistics South Africa released the 2020 fourth quarter and full year GDP results today.

The fourth quarter reported growth of 6.3% on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted annualised basis. The size of the economy grew by 1.5% on a non-annualised basis.  The consensus expectation was for the economy to grow by 5.6% quarter-on-quarter on a seasonally adjusted annualised basis.

In the third quarter GDP lifted by 66.1% on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis – this does not mean the economy grew by two-thirds, but rather this is what GDP would be for the full year if the economy expanded by rates reported in the third quarter.

KZN to implement Provincial Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan

KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube has promised that her department will move with speed to implement, in line with the national plan, the Provincial Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, as articulated by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala. 

Dube-Ncube tabled the 2021/22 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework Budget for the province today. 

Opposition parties have recently painted a gloomy picture of the provincial government’s fiscal position.

Dube-Ncube revealed that similar to all provinces across the country, the economic growth in KwaZulu-Natal continued to be slow, with the real regional gross domestic product contracting by 7.1% last year.

She said the most negatively affected economic sectors were manufacturing, transport, trade and tourism.

Her department plans to quickly turn around the situation by enhancing industrial development through investment into the key productive sectors of the economy.

Motsoaledi signs partnership to eradicate asylum backlog in SA

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi signed an agreement between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the South African government with the aim of eliminating the backlog in the asylum seeker system over the next four years.

The agreement was signed with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s permission and over the next four years, the UNHCR will make available R147-million to the Refugee Appeal Authority of SA.

Motsoaledi said the partnership underlines the country’s continued commitment to offering protection to people who seek refuge from persecution in their home countries.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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