South Africa's economy falls into recession for the second time in 8 years

South Africa’s economy fell into recession for the first time since 2009 after it contracted for a second straight quarter in the first three months of the year as all bar two industries shrank, reports Bloomberg.

The gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.7 percent in the first quarter, compared to a contraction of 0.3 percent in the previous three months

The report states that gross domestic product GDP fell an annualized 0.7 percent in the first quarter compared to a contraction of 0.3 percent in the previous three months, Statistics South Africa said in a report released on Tuesday in the capital, Pretoria.

According to new reports, while rains are helping the country recover from a 2015 drought that was the worst since records started more than a century earlier, political uncertainty has prevented the implementation of some government reforms aimed at boosting growth.

President Jacob Zuma changed his cabinet and fired Pravin Gordhan as finance minister in March, a move that saw the nation lose its investment-grade status with two ratings companies for the first time in 17 years.

“There is a risk that these contractions are not over and we could see another negative coming out in the second quarter of this year,” Annabel Bishop, a South African chief economist says

Read the full report here https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-06/south-africa-sees-second-recession-in-8-years-as-economy-shrinks