SA skirts recession as economy back to pre-Covid size

Back to black? South Africa’s economy escaped recession in the first quarter and is once again bigger than before the coronavirus pandemic hit, as most sectors grew. At an annualised R4.61 trillion in the first quarter, GDP is bigger than in the last quarter of 2019, before the pandemic struck. But power cuts, slow structural reforms, political uncertainty, high levels of crime and inflation continue to weigh down growth. It may be a while yet before the economy has really turned the corner.