raymondparson

MEDIA STATEMENT · 29 OCTOBER 2026

Prof Raymond Parsons
Economist, NWU Business School, North-West University

Commenting on the revised and newly benchmarked Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by StatsSA today, NWU Business School economist Prof Raymond Parsons says:

’The updating and benchmarking of SA ‘s GDP provides welcome more complete data for both public and private sector decision-makers, and which are an essential tool for sound policymaking and business planning. The revision of the GDP figures provides a more accurate and updated mirror of the SA economy and helps to identify the changes that have emerged since the previous benchmarking was made.

On the positive front the latest GDP review highlights resilient foundations that exist within key sectors of the SA economy. It also signals that structural reforms are beginning to yield some positive results. The services sector seems to gave done most of the heavy lifting to anchor economic activity, and household consumption is still revealed as a vital engine of growth. Fixed investment, on the other hand, remains a lagging factor.

Although the new GDP data has improved the look of various key ratios, the absolute metrics do not change and remain a valid reality. By altering the customary ‘denominator’ used for critical economic metrics, such as public debt, it shrinks the ratios without, however, paying off the debt. So, while it does not drastically rewrite the fiscal space, it nonetheless provides technical ‘breathing room’ for the further stabilising of SA’s public debt, as projected in the recent Medium-Term Budget.

Looking ahead, and despite the real positive pockets of improvement in the economy, the broader outlook still reveals vulnerabilities at various levels. The headwinds and tailwinds that need to be navigated by SA remain the same. The revised GDP picture emphasises why accelerating the pace and implementation of key structural reforms are nonetheless still needed to unlock SA’s true economic potential, if SA is to break out of its current narrow 1%-2% growth corridor’.