Contraction shows SA's reforms are a day late and a rand short

Vukile: Why rural and 'township' shopping centres are bucking the retail trend

View Online Daybreaker A snapshot of the day's business and economic news. JAN CRONJE, FIN24 DEPUTY EDITOR The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, which has severely curtailed economic activity in South Africa. (iStock/ Coffeekai) Contraction shows SA's reforms are a day late and a rand short Economists have responded to South Africa's gross domestic product figures for the first quarter of 2020, saying the contraction showed that South Africa did not make the shifts to diversify its economy before the Covid-19 pandemic arrived. South Africa's economy contracted 2% in the first quarter of 2020, Statistics South Africa reported on Tuesday morning. This extends the technical recession that the country found itself in in the last quarter of 2019.   The release of Stats SA's latest quarterly GDP figures comes a week after Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni tabled his supplementary budget in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Treasury now expects SA's GDP to contract by a record 7.2% this year, while tax revenues are projected to fall R300 billion short of what was estimated in February's budget.  Read More COMPANIES Vukile: Why rural and 'township' shopping centres are bucking the retail trend Vukile's rural shopping centres, township malls and convenience centres have recovered much faster from the lockdown. Why has economic activity remained resilient there? ECONOMY Wesgro CEO Tim Harris salary increase row leads to chair and director resigning Judith February explains her uproar over the salary increase of Wesgro CEO Tim Harris, while the chair of the board resigns, claiming "undue meddling" by a provincial minister. INDUSTRIAL Why are we broke and abandoned while govt tries to save SAA, ask SA Express employees A group of employees of SA Express, which is currently in provisional liquidation, are pinning their hopes on the Department of Public Enterprises and National Treasury. OPINION Solly Moeng | SAA should be South Africa's much-needed wake-up call South Africa is in a precarious economic position and must prioritise sustainable business growth, says Solly Moeng. OPINION Isaah Mhlanga | SA still has a narrow window of economic opportunity. It's getting narrower The IMF has released two new publications that provide additional insights on prospects for economic recovery, says Isaah Mhlanga. MONEY-CLINIC MONEY CLINIC | My wife and I are in financial distress. How should we invest our R1.5m? A Fin24 reader and his wife facing unemployment are looking to invest in a five-year deposit investment in the hopes of living off the interest accumulated. DOWNLOAD THE NEWS24 APP CONNECT WITH US

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