The cost of living in South Africa is perilously high and rising at an alarming rate. The Reserve Bank’s decision to raise rates by a significant 25 basis points last week — making it 5 percent more expensive to borrow — shows its concern about the rate at which consumer prices are rising.
A weakening rand, which has depreciated over 30 percent in the last 18 month is also not helping the course of struggling consumers. For a consumer driven growth country analysts say Africa’s second largest economy may need some kind of support to recover from a slump.
“We need as a matter of urgency to start implementing the national development plan rather than just talking about it. It has been around for about three years now … and what we need to do now is start implementing it,” Chris Gilmour, analysts at ABSA Investments, told CCTV Africa.