00:06the lights are staying on ports and rail are slowly clearing despite trade uncertainty with
00:14the united states dominating march of 2025 africa's most industrialized economy is showing
00:21early signs of a turnaround after years of anemic growth and because of this shift many hope this
00:29positive ratings trajectory along with improving growth prospects and a steady interest rate
00:35environment will give businesses and consumers greater certainty we are seeing some of those
00:42green shoots in the local economy largely driven by cyclical factors but also structural reforms
00:48and structural factors that are coming to show and be some some fruits in the medium term
00:55strengthening the outlook is a firmer currency and easing inflation lower inflation interest
01:02rates that are starting to fall a part of the story around why the household sector has been
01:06relatively robust right so you would have seen the real uh the the retail sales rather performing
01:11really well even at the end of the year we still get you know an indication that retail sales probably
01:17contributed positively to gdp but economists caution against being overly optimistic
01:24they point to growth which is expected to remain modest in the medium term the tailwinds from
01:31structural reforms that will drive growth closer to to two percent if we continue on the reform momentum
01:38and build business confidence as a result and could even see real gdp growth rise to about three
01:45percent in the next five or so years even that will fall short of tackling a 31 percent unemployment rate
01:52or lifting millions out of poverty it's only after we get you know fixed investment going especially
01:59with the structural reforms um real gdp growing uh that we will see some of these socioeconomic issues
02:05also starting to turn the corner so we're still a bit far away from where we want to be but
02:09i think
02:09we're moving in the right direction while an s p ratings update after nearly two decades and removal from the
02:16financial action task force graylist targeting illicit financial and terrorist activities has bolstered
02:24confidence economists say sustained growth will still depend on fiscal discipline political stability
02:32confidence and deeper public infrastructure investment
02:35you
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