The Impact of Covid-19 on the Level of Productivity and Industrial Development in South Africa

Covid-19 has caught the South African economy and industries off guard, as emergency approaches have had to be applied towards mitigating its spread. The greater focus has been on containing the virus by closing internal and external economic activities, with the exception of essential services. This comes as a double blow to an economy already bleeding from the consequences of state capture (poor management of state-owned entities, and corruption), a distressed steel sector, and the generally poor performance of its key sectors, such as the manufacturing industry. As a result, credit rating agencies have downgraded South Africa, reducing investor confidence and the possibility of positive growth. It is projected that manufacturing in South Africa will regress to 42.60 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations.