South African President Jacob Zuma said the recovery in the country’s economy is too weak and is hampered by tumbling commodity prices and a wave of labor unrest at the world’s biggest platinum mines.The “recovery has not been as strong as needed,” Zuma told reporters today in Pretoria, the South African capital. “Without faster growth we cannot succeed in reducing unemployment, poverty and inequality.”The continent’s biggest economy grew an annualized 0.9 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace since a 2009 recession. A round of mining strikes this month has threatened a turnaround. Labor action last year reduced output and raised costs, prompting companies including Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS), the world’s largest producer of the metal, to consider cutting back operations and fire workers.
