The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development in Swaziland has reported an increase in the country’s Gross Domestic Product projections, the magnitude of this growth is 2.9% as of January 2018; this figure is higher than what was reported in August the previous year which revealed an estimated 1.0% GDP forecast.
The three year outlook (2018-2020) is positive in that the agricultural sector is expected to have recovered, the agro-linked processing sub sectors of the economy are also foreseen to subsequently perform better. Nevertheless other demand driven areas of the economy are likely to suffer owing to the fiscal challenges the country has faced; particularly the financial, wholesale and retail services may face the greatest negative impact.
The Sub-Saharan Africa economic report has projected an increase in the performance of the Swaziland economy this growth is 3.5%, a reflection of the improved commodity prices in oil and petroleum, this follows an agreement by Oil Producing and Exporting Countries and non-Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) members.
The economic outlook for South Africa appears bleak; this status quo is attributed to compromised consumer confidence and unpredictable policy shifts, all this foretelling a probable reduction in economic performance despite a 1.2% growth forecast for 2018.
The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development in conjunction with the Central Bank carries out annual company surveys to ascertain what challenges the various companies face in order to help tactfully create relevant and beneficial policies. A diverse crop of difficulties were highlighted by the over 100 companies visited, the most frequent being how regulatory bodies in the nation negatively impacted their functioning. Other challenges noted were the high running costs, utility costs, poor telecommunication facilities and inefficient government legislation.
