Cape Town - South Africa's 2015 economic growth forecast of 2 percent is "attainable and realistic" and would have been significantly higher if there were no electricity shortages, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Thursday.
The country would have grown between 2.5 and 3% this year had there not been chronic electricity constraints, Nene said in a written response to parliamentary questions released on Thursday.
On Thursday ratings agency, Fitch, cut its 2015 and 2016 economic growth forecasts for South Africa due to ongoing energy supply constraints.
Fitch forecasts 2.1% economic growth for SA, before ticking up to 3.1% in 2017 if electricity shortages ease, Fitch managing director Ed Parker told a conference in Johannesburg.