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SOEs, unemployment weigh down on SA’s competitiveness
South Africa is ranked as 56th for global competitiveness .This is a significant drop for South Africa as real GDP growth per capita fell to -1.31 with negative growth. The major challenges that have reduced the countries global competiveness is unemployment, uncertainty amongst land reform and the failure of state owned entities amongst other factors. Productivity SA Chief Economist, Dr Leroi Raputsoane joins CNBC Africa for more.
Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:35:22 GMT
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AI Generated Summary
- The impact of high unemployment on South Africa's global competitiveness
- The significance of infrastructure and government efficiency in shaping the country's ranking
- The need for proactive measures and reforms to address systemic issues and drive positive change
South Africa has experienced a significant decline in its global competitiveness ranking, falling to 56th place out of 63 countries. This drop can be attributed to various factors such as infrastructure shortcomings and government inefficiency. Productivity SA Chief Economist, Dr. Leroi Raputsoane, shed light on the challenges facing the country in a recent CNBC Africa interview. The interview highlighted the impact of high unemployment on the economy, emphasizing that this does not reflect a lack of motivation from citizens but rather a lack of economic opportunities. Dr. Raputsoane discussed how South Africa's poor performance in basic areas such as technological infrastructure, healthcare, and education has contributed to its current standing in the global context. The country's low ranking compared to other African nations in the survey underscores the need for improvement across various sectors. The survey, which includes 346 variables, focuses on socioeconomic indicators, with key factors such as economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure playing crucial roles in determining a country's competitiveness. Dr. Raputsoane stressed the importance of addressing issues related to infrastructure, government efficiency, education, health, and technological infrastructure to enhance South Africa's standing. Despite the complexity of these challenges, he emphasized the need for the government to act swiftly and decisively to implement reforms that would drive positive change. Reflecting on past rankings where South Africa was at number 37 in 2005, Dr. Raputsoane highlighted the country's decline over the years and the need for proactive measures to reverse this trend. He called on government officials, including the President, to take the report seriously and work towards improving the country's competitiveness. Dr. Raputsoane's remarks underscore the urgency of addressing the systemic issues plaguing South Africa's competitiveness and the need for collaborative efforts from both the public and private sectors to drive sustainable growth and development.
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