STOCKHOLM, Sept 16 (Reuters) – South Africa sees no need yet
to revise the outlook for its fiscal performance in its 2012
budget plan even if there has been revenue loss due to problems
in the mining industry, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on
Sunday.
But in an interview in the Swedish capital ahead of a
conference on Monday, Gordhan said the mining problems needed to
end as soon as possible and he hoped increased security measures
would allow for successful negotiations between employers and
employees.
South Africa’s platinum mine industry has been hit by a
wildcat strike at Lonmin, prompted by demands for higher pay.
That has spread to other mining companies. Lonmin is to
resume talks on Monday with the strikers.
Gordhan said the government had already forecast that
economic growth for the year would be below the current 2.7
percent forecast, mainly due to the European debt crisis.
He also noted the economy rose 3.2 percent in the second
quarter after 2.7 percent growth in the previous three months.
“What we might see in the third quarter is a dip again in
the growth numbers and also an impact on the potential that
there was for increased employment within the sector as well,”
he told Reuters and Swedish news agency TT in an interview.
“The revenue loss is there,” he said of the strike, but
added: “At this stage our budget February 2012 numbers stand.”
He said he hoped the mining problems would be short-lived.
“The period in which we have this instability needs to be
confined, to the extent that it is possible, and at the same
time we require this collective commitment to resolve the
issues,” he said.
Continued…
