https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / All News RSS ← Back
Africa|Business|Export|Road
Africa|Business|Export|Road
africa|business|export|road
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Sacci records dip in BCI over April, May as elections unfolded

Close

Embed Video

Sacci records dip in BCI over April, May as elections unfolded

Sacci logo

11th June 2024

By: Marleny Arnoldi
Deputy Editor Online

ARTICLE ENQUIRY      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) says the lead-up to the national and provincial elections on May 29 had a notable effect on business confidence during April and May, with the Business Confidence Index (BCI) having dropped by 5.8 points in April to 108.9 and further to 107.8 in May.

The recovery of the 6.9-point decrease over the two months will largely depend on the formation of a new government.

Advertisement

Political developments are of special concern given their potential effect on economic policy and the business climate, Sacci states.

“The recent Parliamentary and provincial elections had an insightful outcome, implying a change in the political guard.

Advertisement

“This adjustment could have unwarranted and unintended consequences for the economy and the wellbeing of South African citizens. Political stability and policy certainty will be fundamental assurances that drive business and investor sentiment,” Sacci explains.

The chamber reports that three subindices negatively impacted on the business climate in May, while three neutral and eight positive effects were noted in the other subindices.

The main positive impacts came from merchandise export volumes and new-vehicle sales, but a decrease in overseas tourists and lower merchandise import volumes weighed on business confidence.

Sacci adds that positive effects also came from the higher global price of precious metals and lower inflation in the year to May.

Real economic growth nonetheless slipped below 1% to 0.5% in the first quarter of the year, after measuring 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Primary sector output declined by 1.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year and secondary output declined by 1.4% year-on-year. The tertiary sector, however, had 1.1% higher input year-on-year in the first quarter.

Sacci says South Africa has an opportunity and duty to set the economy on a road to recovery through responsible and accountable governance.

“The public and private sectors, as well as citizens, should exercise their respective duties and abilities in line with the Constitution and sound economic values and perspectives.

“The political deviousness of parties during the election process should give way to pragmatism and reality that serve future economic improvement, performance, prosperity, and inclusiveness,” it adds.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE ARTICLE ENQUIRY

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Email Registration Success

Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to one or more of Creamer Media’s email newsletters. You should start receiving the email newsletters in due course.

Our email newsletters may land in your junk or spam folder. To prevent this, kindly add newsletters@creamermedia.co.za to your address book or safe sender list. If you experience any issues with the receipt of our email newsletters, please email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za