01/02/2012
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its 2007 annual country assessment, noted that South Africa's economy was "undergoing its longest expansion on record, and in recent years has experienced elevated growth in an environment of rapid credit expansion, booming asset prices, strengthening public finances, and rising international reserves financed by large capital inflows."
At the same time, the IMF expressed concerns about the country's current account deficit and inflation rate.
The IMF report also identified the long-standing issue of unemployment as one of the biggest challenges to economic growth in the country, along with poverty, large wealth disparities and a high incidence of HIV/Aids.
But the report also came out in support of the SA authorities' approach to these problems, with policies aimed at raising economic growth in a stable economic environment and initiatives to reduce unemployment and improve social conditions.
The IMF said this strategy could be bolstered by labour market reforms and further trade liberalisation.
Key to overcoming the challenges identified by the IMF will be the economic integration of South Africa's previously disadvantaged majority. South Africa's economy has a marked duality, with a sophisticated financial and industrial economy having grown alongside an underdeveloped informal economy.
Abundant resources, an advanced industrial sector, robust financial systems, a progressive legal framework and the gateway to other African markets.
