South Africa’s economy is in a desperate position

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Tue 06 Jun   [ron_derby] Technically, South Africa might just dodge the textbook definition of a recession when the first quarter GDP figures are released this morning, at around 11am. The technical definition of a country in recession is two consecutive quarters of contraction. While the economy shrunk in the last three months of 2022, it’s expected that it might just marginally grow around the 0.2% mark. While confidence-sapping, screaming headlines in our financial dailies about a recession might be avoided, the feeling in the real economy is that we’ve been in a very long recession, despite what the numbers say. We are in stagflation — a position of high inflation, high unemployment and stagnant demand — with interest rates hiked by another 50 basis points just last month. Over the coming weeks, some of the big blue chip corporates will start releasing interim and annual results that will reflect just that. We are a nation of many economic plans, some approved by the best thinkers in the world, when it comes to matters of commerce, but clearly none of them have got any traction. Maybe it’s the ANC’s fault or maybe, just maybe, the plans are too complex for business, political parties, labour, civil society and the average Joe to really understand and fully embrace. Whatever plans for economic revival are next sold to us maybe, just maybe, bullet points would do better than a National Development Plan of 429 pages. Bring those bullet points … Ron Derby | Editor-in-Chief [@Ronderby]( [gettyimages-1257904101-594x594]( Premium [Swift action: Sanction-heavy future calls for policymakers to de-risk]( The Reserve Bank has warned that sanctions will be ‘catastrophic’ to the economy, which is currently vulnerable to geopolitical shocks [// Read more]( [Vaal River]( Premium [Heavy rain becoming more prevalent in parts of SA, study shows]( As the country warms, the intensity of rainfall is expected to increase This article is only available to subscribers. [View subscription options]( If you are already a subscriber, login here. [// Read more]( [Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson.]( [ANC confirms Tina Joemat-Pettersson has died]( Former energy minister has been unwell for several years [// Read more]( Recommended Reads [Small reprieve for motorists with petrol and diesel price cut]( The change brings the price of a litre of 95 unleaded petrol in South Africa’s inland areas down to R22.63 per litre from Wednesday [// Read more]( [State must get its ‘act in order’ in Fishrot extradition case]( Prosecutors are expected to submit an application opposing the release of Marén de Klerk, wanted for corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering in Namibia [// Read more]( [Labour Court slams Mmamoloko Kubayi for ‘unlawfully’ firing staffer after being stuck in a lift for an hour]( The court ordered that the deputy director of corporate services immediately be reinstated [// Read more]( [Reserve Bank says South Africans must bungee jump out of a crashing helicopter]( Governor Lesetja Kganyago’s obsession with imaginary ‘barbarians at the gate’ of the central bank, it is losing credibility in the eyes of the public [// Read more]( [Eusebius McKaiser: A democratic intellectual]( As a thinker he enriched our public life, encouraging seriousness and inviting his audience into public discussion rather than the mere observation of spectacle [// Read more]( Pic of the day [Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson.] Former Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson died on Monday, the ANC confirmed. [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa