Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has congratulated South Africa on its positive progress in various global sectors as indicated in the 2015/16 results of the World Economic Forum's Annual Global Competitiveness Index report.
The report released on Wednesday showed that South Africa reversed a four-year downward trend with an impressive seven-place jump to land back into the top 50, at position 49.
"We are happy to learn that South Africa as a maturing democracy continues to make significant strides towards ensuring that we are a globally competitive destination. Team South Africa has worked very hard in a trying global economic climate.
“We congratulate all South Africans for the hard work,” said President Zuma on Wednesday, after he returned from the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA70) which was held in New York.
The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 140 countries, representing 98.3 percent of world Gross Domestic Product.
Much of South Africa’s progress, according to the report, can be attributed to a 16-place jump in one of the efficiency-enhancer pillars, that’s technological readiness. South Africa jumped from 66 to 50.
South Africa’s other biggest improvements come in the areas of: health and primary education which shows that the country is six places, efficiency up six places, and innovation up five places.
South Africa has also showed that it has improved in the areas of macro-economic environment up four places, higher education and training up three places, and business sophistication up two places.
On the economic front the report showed that South Africa is the second-most competitive economy in sub-Saharan Africa at 49th place. It ranks behind Mauritius which was first at 46th, Rwanda was at 58th, Côte d’Ivoire at 91st and Ethiopia 109th.
The WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015–2016 showed that South Africa’s ranking for efficiency in the labour market also improved, from 113 to 107.
However, there were concerns in key sub-indicators in cooperation in labour-employer relations which showed that the country remained in the bottom pile at 140 out of 140.
Flexibility of wage determination is also a challenge for the country with the report indicating the country at 137 while for hiring and firing practices it stood at 138.
South Africa also dropped in the area of infrastructure down eight places to 68th place, institutions down two places to 38, goods market efficiency down six places to stand at 38, financial market development down five places to 12 and market size down four places to stand at 29.
President Zuma encouraged all sectors of the society including business to work together with government in implementing policies and programmes “that were designed to improve the country's global competitiveness particularly in areas where the country has dropped”. - SAnews.gov.za
