Government is sticking to its growth forecast despite a low first quarter growth rate of 0.9 percent.
Finance director general, Maria Ramos said the lower than expected first-quarter growth rate was largely due to the performance of agriculture although a bumper maize crop should raise the performance of this sector and allow for an overall growth rate of more than 3 percent.
The finance department has forecasted an annual GDP of 3.5 percent average for the next three years and Ramos said that despite the weak rand she thought the Reserve Bank would meet its inflation target by 2002.