The African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday welcomed the 3.1 percent increase in South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2017 as announced by the national statistics agency.

The largest positive contributor to growth in GDP in the fourth quarter was the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, which increased by 37.5 percent and contributed 0.8 of a percentage point to GDP growth

The ANC, however, said it was disappointed with the 4.4% decrease in the mining and quarrying industry.

The ruling party called on government to urgently implement the call made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his state of the nation address to intensify engagements with all stakeholders on the mining charter to effectively transform the face of mining in South Africa in order to stimulate growth and create job opportunities.