Without a doubt, the overriding feature of the Q1 Reserve Bank quarterly bulletin was the acceleration in the decline of gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and the contrast between this and ongoing growth in household consumption expenditure and public sector wage increases.

Unfortunately, little else stands out to provide hope that the weak trajectory of domestic economic growth and employment creation is about to turn. Clearly, structural reforms under the GNU thus far have failed to make much impact on economic performance. One can only hope that it might do so with a lag.