South Africa was facing an economic crisis and urgent action was needed to “arrest the backward slide of our economy and prevent any further deterioration in our economic outlook”‚ Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said on Thursday.

He said that in order to find solutions that would improve the country’s economic outlook he had "written to President Jacob Zuma to request a meeting to discuss the crisis before us and share possible solution”.

Over the past five years‚ the economy had grown at less than 2% per annum while gross domestic product growth figures for the second quarter of 2015 showed a contraction of 1.3%.

“If third quarter growth figures reflect a further contraction‚ SA will officially be in a recession‚" he said.

Unemployment remained well above 30% with the majority of those affected being young‚ black South Africans. Key sectors‚ such as mining‚ manufacturing and tourism‚ were shedding jobs with no sign of recovery in sight.

He said while the impact of global economic conditions on the domestic economy could not be dismissed‚ South Africa was clearly underperforming relative to its peers.

“The national general council discussion documents recently released by the ANC acknowledge this reality‚ conceding that key interventions taken by government ‘have not shifted the economy onto a new sustained inclusive growth path’.

“Rising unemployment‚ especially among young people‚ is a significant threat to our democracy. It is in the best interest of South Africa that we work together to address this crisis and the impact it is having on the ability of South Africans to support themselves and their loved ones‚” he said.

The opposition leader said his party believed these problems could be overcome‚ and believed the party’s recently outlined five steps would stimulate the economy.

“These (steps) include actions to solve the electricity crisis as well as policy amendments aimed at labour market reform. We believe these measures will go a long way to kick-starting economic growth and creating jobs.

“We welcome the opportunity to share our ideas with the president and engage on how to address the challenges we face.”