Rolling electricity blackouts were blamed, in part, for stalling South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s initiative to spark economic growth.
Instead, the country slid into its second recession in two years.
South Africa’s economy shrank 1.4 percent in 2019’s fourth quarter; analysts had expected a much milder 0.2 percent contraction.
The nation’s economy contracted at the same 0.2 percent in 2019 overall, its worst performance since the Great Recession and below the rate of population increase.
The growth of South Africa’s population has outpaced its economic growth for each of the last five years.
TRENDPOST: The current recession took hold before any disruption caused by the coronavirus sensation. As South Africa’s economic crisis worsens, citizen protests will dramatically escalate, and the government will take strong military measures to quell the riots and demonstrations.
