Full shelves proof of SA ingenuity and resilience despite load shedding – Fine Fragance Collection’s Simon Maritz

Loadshedding and the deterioration of services and infrastructure in South Africa are leading to a general feeling of despair in the country. Last week, the South African Reserve Bank highlighted the dire effect of power blackouts on our economy. In his first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement of the year, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago estimated that 'extreme loadshedding' will lead to more than a 2% reduction in GDP growth this year. According to his GDP forecast, the South African economy would shrink by  R100 billion this year. Loadshedding is wiping out projected growth and is estimated to be only 0.3% in 2023. PWC paints an even darker picture asserting that blackouts will knock five percentage points off GDP growth this year. It is hard to find silver linings in this dark cloud. Still, Simon Maritz, the founder of Fine Fragrance Collection, points out that South Africa's manufacturing sector appears resilient and has found ingenious ways to mitigate loadshedding. Proof of this, he told BizNews, is that there are no empty shelves as we experienced during the Covid pandemic lockdowns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices