CAPE TOWN: South Africa's growth forecast for 2015 was left unchanged at 2 percent on Thursday as a sluggish global recovery and domestic constraints such as power shortages weighed on the economy, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said.
Africa's most advanced economy is battling to keep lights on due to a shortage in electricity supply, with the state power utility Eskom imposing frequent rolling blackouts in order to prevent its creaking grid from collapsing.
British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's No.2 cigarette maker, said on Thursday it was losing as much as 10 percent of its South African output due to power cuts.
"Subdued business confidence therefore continues to hold back investment and growth," Nene told parliament during his budget vote speech.
The government said in February that the economic growth forecast for 2015 could halve to 1 percent due to power constraints.
Nene added that South Africa was likely to see some upward pressure on inflation, partly owing to a lower maize harvest, higher electricity prices and a weaker exchange rate.
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