UASA Media Release: 27 March
Statement by Abigail Moyo, spokesperson of the trade union UASA:
UASA welcomes the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) decision to keep the repo rate unchanged at 8.25% despite consumer price inflation (CPI) remaining on the upside.
The prime lending rate of local commercial banks also remains unchanged at 11.75% for the fifth consecutive time.
In his presentation, SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said risks remained to South Africa’s inflation expectations. Additionally, South Africa’s struggling economy performed worse than expected in the fourth quarter of 2023, expanding by just 0.1%. Growth for 2023 was a mere 0.6%.
Kganyago also listed food prices, geopolitical risks and their impact on global supply chains and energy markets as some of the upside risks to the inflation outlook. Service inflation has been at its highest since 2019, suggesting that South Africa is joining the global trend of services rather than goods, becoming a primary source of inflation.
Inflation is currently at 5.6%, which slows down the reserve bank’s ultimate objective of inflation at 4.5% as a midpoint. Meanwhile, moderate growth is expected as load shedding eases, with an anticipated growth in GDP of 0.6% in 2024 and 0.2% in 2025.
While the unchanged repo rate is a relief to consumers, UASA encourages its members and fellow South Africans to be financially responsible with their household spending, stay away from debt and think twice before spending unnecessarily.
For further enquiries or to set up a personal interview, contact Abigail Moyo at 065 170 0162.