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May 25 2012 13:58
The costs of the first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project have increased significantly to almost R90bn, according to a report.
May 24 2012 17:31
The Reserve Bank will maintain current interest rates, and a considerable reduction in the local petrol price is anticipated, says governor Gill Marcus.
May 25 2012 11:36
The JSE has identified and stopped "incorrect" trades from one of its members, and will reverse the trades and lower the session's total value after the close.
Johannesburg - The ailing eNatis licensing system had a negative effect on car sales and on the economy in Gauteng, a business breakfast heard on Tuesday.
Discussing the Gauteng Business Barometer (GBB) for April at the breakfast hosted by Gauteng Business for the construction industry, T-Sec economist Mike Schussler said April had been a particularly weak barometer.
"April was probably the weakest barometer we have seen since we launched in June last year," he said.
"The main reason for this is the negative impact of higher interest rates and inflation. Implementation of the eNatis (Electronic National Traffic Information System) also has an impact. The effect is more severe than we thought would be the case, four or five months ago."
He said car sales were down by 6.3% in Gauteng compared to a year ago.
"Its difficult to quantify the effect... people have been struggling to put cars trough system due to the delays eNaTIS has caused."
The GBB for April slipped to 146.4 index points from 150.4, in March, indicating a 2.7% drop in business activity levels, and a 5.9% decrease when compared to the same month last year.
Results for the construction industry were more positive according to Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim.
He said the construction and peripheral industries could experience economic growth "never seen before in South Africa".
"... approximately R1.2 trillion will flow through these sectors and their extended supply chains, a sharp contrast to the R700m that was spent during the past three years."
The GBB measures Gauteng's economic activity on a monthly basis.