for the year might have been achieved however, had local shocks not obstructed growth in july of last year and through much of april, may and june of this year. social and political unrest in july 2021 in gauteng and kwazulu natal, as well as the subsequent catastrophic floods in kwazulu - natal this year, caused immeasurable damage and added to the plight of communities in the hardest - hit areas. these page - 4 - of 13 weather - related events also impacted on insurers and brought to the fore the challenges that the financial sector faces in relation to climate change. in recent months, loadshedding became more extensive and intensive, imposing high costs on economic activity levels. fiscal and monetary policy throughout the year supported economic activity through positive real spending and rising credit demand. spending by households also benefitted from a rebound in wages, a recovery in net wealth and increased social transfers. the sharp increase in private savings occasioned by the drop in consumption during the hard lockdown helped drive the current account into surplus, and together with revenue windfalls, provided relatively cheap financing to public spending. the country ’ s current account, which reached 3. 7 % of gdp in 2021, supported the rand, and contributed to less inflationary pressure than had been expected when the crisis first unfolded. despite borrowing requirements remaining high, south africa ’ s fiscal ratios improved markedly, underpinned by revenue overperformance. commodity export prices and a strong terms of trade have played a critical role in the economy ’ s adjustment to the pandemic and recovery. as a result of these developments, domestic output has now recovered to prepandemic levels, surpassing the 2019 gross domestic product ( gdp ) level in the first quarter of 2022, on the back of strong growth during the quarter. our economy grew by 1. 9 % of the quarter - on - quarter seasonally adjusted rate ( sar ) in the first quarter of 2022. this followed an upwardly revised 1. 4 % growth ( previously 1. 2 % ) in the fourth quarter. the first - quarter growth was broad - based, underpinned by manufacturing, trade and the finance sector. the broad - based growth reflects the easing of lockdown restrictions during the period as well as improving domestic demand. nonetheless, important sectors of the economy – construction, tourism, and hospitality – remain well below 2019 levels of output, with major consequences for employment levels. these page - 5 - of 13 sectors

frequent economic and financial shocks, with disruptive effects for economic activity and high inflation. during 2021 extreme weather events including a deep winter freeze, floods, severe thunderstorms, and heatwaves, contributed to annual insured losses from natural catastrophes of an estimated us $ 105 billion, the fourth highest since 1970, according to global reinsurer swiss re. the world economic forum ’ s 2022 global risks report has identified extreme weather and climate action failure among the risks that have worsened the most since the start of the covid - 19 crisis. page - 10 - of 13 financial institutions play an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigation through the provision of funding. the work of the prudential authority and the financial stability department is focussed on improving the resilience of the financial sector to climate related risks and on incorporating climate related information in funding and insurance decisions. climate change indicators, disclosure and taxonomy rules will become part of the prudential framework. during 2021, an inaugural sensitivity stress test was conducted of the insurance sector. the results of the stress test were encouraging – an indication that large insurers would have sufficient financial resources in the event of an adverse scenario. staff matters the hybrid way of working that the sarb initiated during the pandemic will stand us in good stead as we kick - start the renovation of the head office building in pretoria. the renovations are necessary to overhaul ageing infrastructure and perform a muchneeded upgrade of our facilities. with the planned addition of a museum, the expanded precinct is intended to enhance public accessibility and become a place of knowledgesharing and a window onto our country ’ s economic and financial history. the bank has started with these renovations, and has appointed a contractor for the redevelopment and secured temporary office space. it is envisaged that the temporary office space will be ready for occupation by 1 october 2022. a project of this nature does not come without hurdles. with key project and stakeholder management processes in place however, we anticipate project completion of the head office precinct by the end of 2024. our vaccination programme has yielded some positive results, with a total of 61 % of sarb group staff ( including the currency producing subsidiaries and three cash centres ) having received the primary dose of the available vaccines. a total of 11 % of staff are considered to be fully vaccinated under the new definition, which includes the primary dose and a booster shot. page - 11 - of 13