National Treasury says measures are in place to efficiently deal with the concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on how the country plans to tackle the poor economic outlook.
The IMF visited South Africa from 30 October to 8 November for an economic update on the country.
The visit followed the conclusion of South Africa’s Article IV Consultation in May 2017. Stakeholders from government, the South African Reserve Bank, State-owned enterprises (SOEs), as well as business and academia met with the IMF.
The international monetary body released a statement outlining its concerns and areas that require urgent improvement by South Africa to unlock growth potential.
The IMF’s main findings, as outlined in its statement, include:
- South Africa continues to face a challenging economic outlook for both 2017 and 2018, despite a recovering global economy.
- The implementation of some key reforms have stalled, and many State-owned enterprises, which are engines of growth, remain inefficient.
- An accelerated pace of implementing structural reforms could prompt a recovery in business and consumer confidence, which could improve economic growth.
The IMF welcomed the role of the Presidential Fiscal Committee (PFC), saying it signals the political will to tackle long-standing reforms and remove obstacles to investment, which will unlock the economy’s growth potential.
“National Treasury appreciates the IMF’s findings and the urgency it places on the implementation of structural reforms to reignite growth,” Treasury said in a statement.
The work of the PFC, Treasury said, involves preserving fiscal discipline, debt sustainability and measures to support growth.
