*  *  *  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for the opportunity to share a few thoughts and ideas with you today. South Africa’s economy has been slowing since 2011 in an environment of sluggish global growth and falling commodity prices. In July, we expected the GDP 1 growth rate for 2016 to be about 0 per cent.
With the relatively good second-quarter figures released on Tuesday, the Monetary Policy Committee (or MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank will be able to revise up its annual estimates at the September meeting, but the annual figure will remain low. At the same time, inflation has been elevated.