Economic growth in South Africa is breaking historical records, President Thabo Mbeki told MPs on Tuesday.
Speaking at the start of debate in the National Assembly on the Presidency’s budget vote, he said that by September this year the economy ”will have been growing for eight solid years, longer than ever before in the recorded economic history of our country”.
Further, the current rate of growth has remained at a steady high level for longer than ever before in the country’s history.
”Since 2004, real incomes per person, on average, have risen at about 4% a year; and more than 500 000 new jobs have been created annually since September 2004.”
Mbeki said investment has risen steadily from 14,7% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2002 to 19,2% of GDP in the final quarter of last year.
”In the last quarter of 2006, investment grew at an annualised rate of 16%, well ahead of Asgisa [Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa] targets of 10% a year.”
These figures were not contested by experts, he said, except for those who said the government might be undercounting some of the key numbers.
”We are now creating jobs more rapidly than ever before in our history,” Mbeki said. — Sapa