South Africa Economy

Accounting for 40.6% of South Africa’s manufacturing base, the performance and challenges facing manufacturers in Gauteng reflect those of the country as a whole. The industrial sector is feeling the strain of several factors impeding its growth prospects, including reduced demand due to the global slowdown; squeezed margins due to rising...

Despite having the smallest land area of South Africa’s nine provinces at 16,548 sq km, Gauteng is the largest contributor to the national economy, making up onethird of total GDP, at R700bn ($85.33bn) – double the contribution of Kwazulu-Natal (16%) and the Western Cape (14%), the next two largest provinces by GDP.

The second half of 2012 witnessed some of the most damaging tensions between organised labour, employers and government in over a decade. With political overtones and tragic loss of life, the success of wildcat (unauthorised) strikes at key mines in 2012 secured well-above-inflation wage increases, spurring protests in other sectors such as...