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Bloemfontein - In March provincial government departments pulled out all the stops to use up their budgets before the end of the financial year.
The Sake24 and BoE Private Clients provincial barometers, which measure the economic pulse of the provinces, showed massive increases in the sub-indices reflecting government expenditure.
The highest increase was in the Eastern Cape, where March state expenditure was an enormous 60.5% higher than in March 2010. This boosted the province’s overall growth index by 19% – the highest increase to date for that province’s barometer.
KwaZulu-Natal (43.1% up), Gauteng (26.6%), the Western Cape (25.3%), and the Free State (20%) also indicated how effective public servants could be.
Economists.co.za economist Mike Schüssler, the compiler of the provincial barometers, said expenditure by national government reached a high of R55bn in March, a trend he ascribed to departments using the last month of their financial year to deplete their budgets.
Schüssler warned that such spending was certainly not sustainable. He said he was not worried if government overspent now and then, but the economy had begun to recover and the state could actually take a step back now.
The healthy improvements in the overall provincial barometers also continued, indicating that the country’s economic recovery is still gaining momentum.
In March the Eastern Cape barometer was 24.5% up, to 123 index points. There was also considerable improvement in the KwaZulu-Natal (15.8% to 123.1 points), Gauteng (14.3% to 105.5 points) and Western Cape (11.5% to 112.6 points) barometers.
This indicates systematic improvement in these provinces' economic activity levels, and an increasingly brighter future outlook.
The private sector economy is also back in the picture, and the transport and communications indices in particular are doing well.
In March cellphone use throughout the country was 37% up, and internet use 36%.
The supposition is that the growing popularity and availability of smartphones is contributing to increased cellphone and data services usage. Over the same period, there was a 7% decline in fixed-line calls.
Good news for the company is that the volatile construction index could again be showing a positive turnaround. After months of strong declines in most provinces, it is only in the Eastern Cape (-22.9%) and Gauteng (-19.6%) that activity levels are still low.
However, the construction sub-indices indicate that business may be doing a u-turn and that activity levels are edging up.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
For more news on the Sake24/BoE Private Clients barometers, go to www.fin24.com/barometer.
The Sake24 and BoE Private Clients provincial barometers, which measure the economic pulse of the provinces, showed massive increases in the sub-indices reflecting government expenditure.
The highest increase was in the Eastern Cape, where March state expenditure was an enormous 60.5% higher than in March 2010. This boosted the province’s overall growth index by 19% – the highest increase to date for that province’s barometer.
KwaZulu-Natal (43.1% up), Gauteng (26.6%), the Western Cape (25.3%), and the Free State (20%) also indicated how effective public servants could be.
Economists.co.za economist Mike Schüssler, the compiler of the provincial barometers, said expenditure by national government reached a high of R55bn in March, a trend he ascribed to departments using the last month of their financial year to deplete their budgets.
Schüssler warned that such spending was certainly not sustainable. He said he was not worried if government overspent now and then, but the economy had begun to recover and the state could actually take a step back now.
The healthy improvements in the overall provincial barometers also continued, indicating that the country’s economic recovery is still gaining momentum.
In March the Eastern Cape barometer was 24.5% up, to 123 index points. There was also considerable improvement in the KwaZulu-Natal (15.8% to 123.1 points), Gauteng (14.3% to 105.5 points) and Western Cape (11.5% to 112.6 points) barometers.
This indicates systematic improvement in these provinces' economic activity levels, and an increasingly brighter future outlook.
The private sector economy is also back in the picture, and the transport and communications indices in particular are doing well.
In March cellphone use throughout the country was 37% up, and internet use 36%.
The supposition is that the growing popularity and availability of smartphones is contributing to increased cellphone and data services usage. Over the same period, there was a 7% decline in fixed-line calls.
Good news for the company is that the volatile construction index could again be showing a positive turnaround. After months of strong declines in most provinces, it is only in the Eastern Cape (-22.9%) and Gauteng (-19.6%) that activity levels are still low.
However, the construction sub-indices indicate that business may be doing a u-turn and that activity levels are edging up.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
For more news on the Sake24/BoE Private Clients barometers, go to www.fin24.com/barometer.
