‘Ramaphoria’ gets lifeline as economy grows by 3.1% in second quarter

South Africa’s economy grew by 3.1% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019, giving President Cyril Ramaphosa a much-needed boost.

This follows a contraction of 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released Q2 gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Tuesday.

Mining biggest contributor

The economic boost was driven mainly by mining, which experienced its strongest growth since Q2 of 2016.

Mining expanded by a whopping 14.4%, followed by finance (4.1%), and trade (3.9%).

Manufacturing also grew by 2.9% in the second quarter.

The South African #economy grew by 3,1% in Q2:2019 mainly driving by the #mining industry that recorded its strongest growth since Q2:2016 #GDP Listen here for more: https://t.co/cIuR5xjuOf#StatsSA pic.twitter.com/EYm7R8O9A7

— Stats SA (@StatsSA) September 3, 2019

Agriculture remains sluggish

However, the agricultural sector continues to lag behind, contracting by 4.2 %.

This was caused by lower production of field crops and horticultural products, Stats SA said.

Construction is similarly sluggish after declining by 1.6%. Transport also declined by 0.3%.

On the whole, Stats SA estimates nominal GDP of South Africa at R1.26 trillion.

This is higher than the R1.20 trillion recorded in 2019’s first quarter.

Despite the encouraging quarterly expansion, GDP grew by only 0.9% year on year.

This shows that much more needs to be done to resuscitate South Africa’s economy in the long run.