South Africa sticks to 5% economic growth by 2019: Zuma

Despite economic hardships, South Africa would not change the target of achieving a five-percent economic growth by 2019, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

"We recommit to it (the target) because all of us in the country have to make the effort and play our part, to achieve inclusive growth," Zuma said in a debate on the Presidency Budget Vote in the National Assembly.

Zuma set the goal in his State of the Nation Address in February.

"We reaffirm this target, knowing fully well that, it is not going to be easy to achieve it," Zuma told MPs.

In its quarterly report on Tuesday, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed down in the first quarter of 2015, increasing only 1.3 percent, compared to the 4.1 percent year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Due to the grave impact of the country's electricity crisis on the GDP, the World Bank expected South Africa's GDP growth to be two percent this year.

The Stats SA report "helps us to keep track of progress and to enhance our efforts", Zuma said.

The government has interventions in place which are igniting growth, said Zuma.

He named four big challenges that hinder the growth: the current electricity shortage, the availability and cost of broadband, a regulatory environment that is cumbersome and labor market stability.

"All of these are being addressed," Zuma said. "Government has completed a medium term outlook model for the supply and demand of electricity."

To increase supply, the national electricity utility Eskom is implementing a structured maintenance program to ensure that the availability of all power stations is improved, according to Zuma.

Eskom has also commissioned the supply of 100 Megawatts from the Sere Wind Farm in the Western Cape, while 827 Megawatts of cogeneration contracts have been signed, adding much needed capacity, the president said.

The Department of Energy has a program to procure additional supply using Independent Power Producers, he said, adding that the additional supply will come from coal, renewables and cogeneration.

"Economic growth will not be achieved by government alone. It takes all sectors – business, labor and politicians," Zuma said. Endi