##appling with persistently high inflation. south africa has experienced a sustained inflation target breach, with headline inflation having remained above the midpoint of the target range for 27 consecutive months since may 2021. high inflation erodes the purchasing power of the rand and thus makes south africans poorer. over the past 18 months, south africans, alongside their global counterparts, have endured a rise in the cost of living. this came at a time when south africans had become accustomed to low and stable inflation. after hovering in the upper half of the target range for a year, south africa ’ s inflation breached the upper limit of the sarb ’ s 3 ‒ 6 % inflation target range in may 2022, and reaching a high of 7. 8 % in july 2022 before beginning its retreat. the trajectory of domestic headline inflation has been shaped primarily by fuel, food and electricity 5 this presents risks of wage - price spirals, particularly given demand resilience. prices. the first two have largely reflected global developments, beginning with the sharp rebound in the demand for goods amid supply bottlenecks, and later exacerbated by the russia ‒ ukraine war, which further strained global energy and food markets. sharply rising food and fuel prices raise fundamental concerns from a distributional standpoint. to provide some perspective, fuel inflation in south africa soared to 56. 2 % in july 2022, and pushed pump prices well above r25 per litre, with immediate knockon effects on transport and production costs for goods and services. 6 meanwhile, high electricity tariffs have further raised the cost of living for many south africans. food and transport inflation impact the poor the most, as their consumption baskets are weighted heavily by these items. recent inflation data by statistics south africa shows inflation for the lowest income deciles ( deciles 1 and 2 ) averaging 9. 0 % in july 2023, while that for income deciles 9 and 10 averaged at 4. 3 %. 7 low - income earners and the poor more generally are less able to protect their incomes from being eroded by inflation, and this contributes to rising inequality in our society. the authors of our constitution understood the need to protect those who cannot protect themselves. the constitution tasks the sarb with protecting the purchasing power of the rand, and we are committed to executing on this mandate. in light of the deteriorating domestic inflation environment, the sarb ’ s monetary policy committee ( mpc ) raised the repurchase ( repo ) rate by a

in balance. by so doing, we play our part in creating an environment conducive to inclusive and sustainable economic growth for the benefit of our people. it is important, however, to realise that economic growth and development really is a team sport, and as such, needs all the players to pull together potential ( real gdp ) growth has been raised from - 0. 1 % in 2023 to - 0. 8 % and 1. 0 % in 2024 and 2025 respectively. 13 consumer confidence declined sharply to - 25 points in 2023q2 from - 8 points in 2023q1. 14 according to the 2023q2 quarterly labour force survey, an additional 784 000 ( 5. 0 % ) people were employed during the quarter, when compared with the same period in 2022. this brings employment back to 2019 levels. meanwhile, the official unemployment rate has declined from 33. 9 % in 2022q2 to 32. 6 % in 2023q2. the limpopo province is also facing the challenge of job creation, with unemployment in the province currently at 31. 6 %, slightly below the national average. and do their jobs well. so, while we work hard to lower inflation and interest rates to support a healthy balance of saving and investment, it is critical that the broader public sector identifies constraints to growth and job creation and focuses on relieving them. thank you.