{"id":102938,"date":"2025-12-26T21:05:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T19:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=102938"},"modified":"2025-12-26T21:08:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T19:08:30","slug":"sa-economy-battles-headwinds-in-2025-cautious-optimism-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/sa-economy-battles-headwinds-in-2025-cautious-optimism-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"SA economy battles headwinds in 2025, cautious optimism for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read | 22 December 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf7 After a tough 2025, economists say easing inflation and stronger markets may offer cautious hope for South Africa\u2019s economy in 2026. Image Credits: Elif Bayraktar \/ Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n

South Africa\u2019s economy weathered a challenging 2025, characterised by weak growth, rising unemployment and political uncertainty, leaving many citizens frustrated and economically strained. However, economists believe there are early signs of cautious optimism for 2026, provided governance improves and long-standing structural challenges are addressed.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Radio Islam International<\/em>,<\/a> Wits Business School Professor Jannie Rossouw described 2025 as \u201ceconomically speaking, a difficult year,\u201d highlighting that economic growth once again failed to keep pace with population growth. This imbalance, he said, \u201cled to increased unemployment,\u201d deepening inequality and hardship for many South Africans.<\/p>\n

One of the defining features of the year was the turbulent national budget process. Prof Rossouw reminded listeners that \u201conly the third attempt to have a national budget was passed by Parliament,\u201d after two failed budget attempts triggered intense political debate and market uncertainty. Central to this was the proposed VAT hike, which the ANC attempted to introduce without securing agreement from its partners in the Government of National Unity (GNU).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis vividly showed the ANC that they are no longer exclusively in power,\u201d Prof Rossouw said, adding that the episode sent a strong signal about the need for consultation and accountability. He expressed hope that the ruling party would carry these lessons forward into 2026.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficult economic climate, financial markets proved to be a rare bright spot. \u201cThe JSE performed very, very well,\u201d Prof Rossouw noted, pointing out that the All-Share Index rose from below 100,000 points to above 110,000. Bond yields also declined, suggesting improved investor confidence, though he cautioned that it was \u201ctoo soon to reach any final conclusion\u201d about sustained recovery.<\/p>\n

Another unexpected development was the resilience of the rand. While the stronger currency helped contain inflation and enabled the announcement of a lower inflation target of 3%, Prof Rossouw warned that it also made exports less competitive, placing additional pressure on local manufacturers and exporters.<\/p>\n

Externally, South Africa faces growing risks from the United States. President Donald Trump\u2019s 30% tariff hikes were described as \u201cthe biggest external threat to our economy,\u201d already impacting South African exports. Rossouw cautioned that exclusion from the AGOA trade agreement would be \u201cas serious a blow,\u201d urging the government to urgently appoint a new ambassador to Washington after the position remained vacant for nearly a year.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Prof Rossouw said confidence indicators suggest a gradual improvement in sentiment. \u201cThe mood in South Africa is improving,\u201d he said, adding that lower inflation and potential interest rate cuts could support growth in 2026 provided policy reform, accountability and effective governance remain priorities.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong><\/a> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Professor Jannie Rossouw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 22 December 2025 South Africa\u2019s economy weathered a challenging 2025, characterised by weak growth, rising unemployment and political uncertainty, leaving many citizens frustrated and economically strained. However, economists believe there are early signs of cautious optimism for 2026, provided governance improves and long-standing structural challenges are addressed. Speaking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SA-2025-economy.jpg?fit=818%2C462&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qMi","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 12:55:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}