…As inflation slows down
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – Eswatini’s economy grew at a higher rate than the world economy in the third quarter of 2023.
This was was revealed in the 2023 3rd Quarter Economic Bulletin which was published yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
The 2023 Q3 Economic Bulletin revealed that Eswatini’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 6.2% in the second quarter as compared to last year at the same time, whereas the global GDP was projected to grow by 3.0% by the end of the year.
“Growth is anticipated to moderate further, recording 2.9 percent, in 2024 reflecting a 1 percentage point downward revision compared to the July 2023 forecast. This will be attributable to lingering effects of the tight financial conditions, as well as the escalation of geopolitical tensions i.e., Russia-Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine conflicts,” reads the Bulletin from the Ministry of Economic Planning.
According to the Economic Bulletin, one of the factors underlying the country’s GDP growth were the increased activity in most manufacturing industries, with the secondary sector growing by 8.3%. The tertiary sector also grew by 6.6%, which was composed of a 12.2% improvement in wholesale and retail, a 22% percent increase in economic activity of ICT-related services, as well as a 44% increase in the accomodation sector.
“The domestic economy reflected a recovery in 2023Q2, increasing by 6.2 percent, on a year-on-year basis, following a contraction of 2.4 percent in Q1. The rebounding economic activity was on account of lower base effects in Q1, particularly under manufacturing activity,” reported the Bulletin.
There was also a recorded increase in equity held by the private sector, whereby it grew by 2.2% when compared to the second quarter (qurter-on-quarter growth), and grew by 8.8% when compared to the same quarter in 2022 (year-on-year growth).
In other good news for the consumer, headline inflation was recorded at 4.0 percent in the third quarter, influenced by a 4.1 percent decline in ‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’, a 3.3 percent decline in ‘Transport’ and a 0.6 percent decline in ‘Hosuing and Utilities’.
The Eswatini Macro Forecasting Team (MFT) predict that the economy will continue on an upwards trajectory.
“According to latest economic growth projections by the Eswatini Macro Forecasting Team (MFT), domestic economic activity is envisaged to rebound in the year 2023, increasing by 4.7 percent relative to a muted growth of 0.5 percent in 2022. Despite the contraction in economic growth in Q1, a strong recovery is still anticipated in most sectors, including manufacturing and services, in the second half of the year,” reads the Economic Bulletin on economic projections.
