Culled—Proshare
March 13, 2020
By FDC Ltd
GDP figures recently released for South Africa revealed that economic growth contracted by 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
This is coming after the third quarter GDP 2019 result was revised to show a contraction of 0.8%.
It is the second economic recession in two years.
In all, South Africa’s economy expanded slowly by 0.2% in 2019 compared to 0.8% in 2018.
The sharp decline in GDP figures reveals slow growth in economic activities.
In addition, for the first time in 10 years, the annual Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey done by PWC, showed a drop in respondents who have experienced economic crime in South Africa.
This is the seventh edition of the report and based on global statistics indicators, South Africa’s economic crime rate shockingly declined.
Economic crime or financial crime refers to illegal actions committed by an individual or group of individuals to obtain a financial or professional advantage.
A further breakdown of the report showed that the respondents who experienced this crime dropped significantly by 17% to 60% in 2019.
According to the report, customer fraud topped the list, followed by bribery, corruption and financial statement fraud.