No recession next year despite slow growth – Gordhan

SOUTH Africa’s economy faces more uncertainty in the coming year thanks to global political trends that have seen the rise of Donald Trump and the surprise of Brexit.

But Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan assured South Africans that the country was not at risk of a recession despite its slow economic growth.

Gordhan was addressing the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa’s national congress in Cape Town.

“In 2017, it’s going to be a difficult year. Both politically, geopolitically and economically speaking as well,” Gordhan said.

He warned that due to Brexit and Trump’s election as president of the Unted States some trade deals might be renegotiated.

In South Africa, the ANC was expected to undergo a bruising succession battle as different factions are expected to back deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa or African Union chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to succeed President Jacob Zuma.

But Gordhan said globally the electorate was beginning to question the establishment because they did not see the benefit of the wealth accumulated by the ruling elites.

“[The electorate was arguing that] unless we see the benefit we are going to vote for Mr Trump or for Brexit or we are going to vote for the European Union to be broken up or we are going to vote for right-wing populist parties,” he said.

Speaking about the South African economy, he said the country was in the process of recovering.

The government and stakeholders needed to work together to effect the changes.

“We need to find areas where we can work together. There are many areas of the economy that are doing well. There are other areas of the economy that are struggling and we need to find ways of helping struggling parts of the economy,” he said.