South Africa’s national debt is expected to balloon to 44 per cent of gross domestic product by 2015/16 before declining gradually, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday.

Africa’s largest economy emerged from its first recession in 17 years last year, but still struggles with lackluster consumer spending, high unemployment and uncertainty about the outlook for Europe, its biggest trading partner.

South Africa’s consumer inflation slowed to a four-year low in May signifying prices are still depressed, and with consumer demand lagging behind an overall recovery, the central bank could cut rates further next month.

“It will not be possible to reduce government debt by 2013,” Gordhan said in a written reply to questions in parliament.

He said a marginal decline in non-interest expenditure, combined with rising budget revenue will cause a narrowing of the primary budget deficit over the next three years.

“As a result, our forecast is for debt to rise to 44 percent of the GDP in 2015/2016, after which it will begin to decline gradually,” Gordhan said.

He said government would manage finances to return to a “sustainable position” without penalising future generations with a debt burden.

“It must be borne in mind that a sustainable part of the debt is used to finance infrastructure (such as) electricity generation, dams and roads, that will last beyond the current generation,” Gordhan said.

South Africa will spend more than one trillion rand developing infrastructure over the next five years, Gordhan’s cabinet colleague and economic development minister Ebrahim Patel said in March.