Real economic growth failed to display any meaningful acceleration after a poor performance in 2016, despite the rebound in agricultural production following the previous year‟s drought. At present, the SARB forecasts average growth of only 0.7% in 2017, after a mere 0.3% last year.
Hence, the gap between South African GDP growth and world GDP growth, which was minimal up to 2013, continues to widen. Disappointing economic growth, together with the surprisingly low buoyancy of major tax revenues relative to their bases, has compounded the fragility of South Africa‟s fiscal situation.