Commenters call for an end to lockdown as second-quarter GDP contracts 51%

South Africa’s real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 51% in the second quarter, down from a revised 1.8% quarter-on-quarter contraction recorded in the first quarter, extending the economic recession into its fourth quarter. Nearly 91% of industrial sectors performed poorly, with the manufacturing sector recording the largest negative contribution to GDP growth, at -10.8 percentage points.