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...
The endorsement of the National Development Plan (NDP) by the ruling African National Congress’s (ANC) Mangaung policy conference in December 2012 was an encouraging sign for South Africa’s private sector. Further, the election of one of the NDP’s chief architects, billionaire businessman Cyril Ramaphosa, as deputy president of the ANC reflected...
A widening trade imbalance caused South Africa’s current account deficit to broaden to 6.4% of GDP in 2012, up from 4.2% in 2011 and 2.8% in 2010, and the widest since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008, when it reached 7.3%. With the services balance traditionally in deficit, deepening trade imbalances have driven the current...
Just as significant as its role as a gateway to Africa for foreign investors, South Africa is also the source of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows on the continent, as well as further afield in emerging markets globally and increasingly in developed markets. “In recent years foreign investment by South African corporations has been...
Often referred to as the Rainbow Nation, South Africa has a heterogeneous population which reflects its rich and sometimes turbulent history. The country has been known as a centre for gold and ivory trading since as long ago as 12,000 AD, with established trade routes to both India and China. By the mid-1600s, it had become a useful staging...
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