Unrest an obstacle to SA’s competitiveness

Unrest an obstacle to SA’s competitiveness
ECONOMY / 28 September 2016, 09:08am
Kabelo Khumalo

Jav Hot


File picture: Ronen Zvulun




Johannesburg - South Africa is Africa’s second most competitive economy behind Mauritius, despite a weak education and health care system, low trust in public officials and labour unrest. This is according to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCP) released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF).





Globally, South Africa is ranked 47th, a two-place gain from last year, the second consecutive year of improvement and the highest position since 2010.





The report assessed the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 138 countries. The role of stimulus packages such as quantitative easing, technology and innovation in emerging markets were also considered.





South Africa’s competitiveness is anchored on the country’s financial markets; it is ranked 11th in the world, helped by being ranked number one for financing through local equity market.


Jav Gang Bang



Other notable attributes of the country’s competitiveness are its anti-monopoly policies, which was ranked 7th, and stronger local competition, which came in 30th.





The report said South Africa had improved in two crucial areas over the past year: goods market efficiency, up 10 to 28th, and labour market efficiency, up 10 to 97th).





In the labour market “the country is doing much better at linking pay to productivity”, the report said. Business sophistication and innovation in South Africa had improved





The report noted that areas of concern that weakened South Africa’s competitiveness were the country’s inflexible labour market and low public opinion of politicians.





The country is ranked 138th for labour-employee relations and 109th in public trust in politicians. Health and primary education are ranked a low 123rd, while higher education came in at 77th.





Lack of openness





The report said the lack of openness in the countries surveyed was detrimental to competitiveness.





“Our data suggests that the degree to which economies are open to international trade in goods and service has been declining for 10 years. This could hurt prosperity in the future,” the WEF said.





Klaus Schwab, an executive chairman of WEF, said the lack of openness was a stumbling block to world leaders in having economic inclusivity.





“Declining openness in the global economy is harming competitiveness and making it harder for leaders to drive sustainable, inclusive growth,” said Schwab.





Among the Brics countries, South Africa came in fourth position with China being the highest ranked Brics country - it was ranked 28th.





The GCP said a number of factors may limit South Africa's competitiveness going forward, especially in the areas of infrastructure, building strong institutions and low business confidence.



Jav Moodyz

Switzerland has the distinction of being the most competitive economy in the world.





BUSINESS REPORT

Kenya moves to replace election officials

Kenya moves to replace election officials
Jav Porn




AFRICA / 28 September 2016, 09:48am
Reuters


(File picture) A man runs past a riot police officer trying to kick him as supporters of the opposition Coalition for Reform and Democracy are dispersed with tear gas during a demonstration against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in Nairobi in May 2016. Picture: Dai Kurokawa




Nairobi - Kenya's government said on Tuesday it was taking steps to replace all its electoral commissioners under a deal with the opposition to resolve a row that has led to protests and violence.





Rivals in parliament have held talks to end the dispute over the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which critics said was biased and not fit to oversee elections scheduled for August 2017.





A government statement said a committee representing several government agencies "will lead negotiations with the IEBC commissioners to facilitate the orderly and dignified exit of current commissioners and ensure a seamless transition".


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Violence has often been a feature of Kenyan elections. After the 2007 vote, ethnic fighting left 1,200 people dead.





Opposition protests against the 10-strong commission erupted in April and led to a least four deaths when youths blocked roads and clashed with police.





The opposition Coalition for Reform and Democracy coalition led by Raila Odinga had tried but failed to overturn the result of a 2013 election won by President Uhuru Kenyatta.





The opposition complained about the failure of electronic voter identification devices and other technical glitches, which they blamed on the shortcomings of the commission and corruption.





The commissioners earlier this year denied allegations of malpractice, rejected accusations of bias and vowed to stay on.





The government initially backed the commissioners, but in June agreed to a bipartisan parliamentary committee to resolve the dispute, a move that prompted the opposition to call off the protests.


Jav Heyzo


The government statement did not give a date for when the electoral officials would leave office but said the government "recognises the urgency that accompanies the ongoing transition process."