JOHANNESBURG - South Africa must move quickly to implement the reforms needed to salvage its status as an investment destination and breathe life into the struggling economy.
“SA is rapidly becoming a forgotten country and has stopped being talked about as an investment destination,” James Formby, the chief executive officer of FirstRand Ltd.’s Rand Merchant Bank, wrote in Johannesburg-based newspaper Business Day. “It’s no longer five to midnight, it is midnight. We cannot afford to wait any longer to turn things around.”
Implementing greater fiscal discipline, dealing with corruption, providing a stable supply of electricity and easing labor laws are among the major challenges South Africa must address, he said. While the government battles to find consensus on the best way forward with these because of ideological differences and factions within the ruling party, there are some quick wins that can be capitalized on.
Should just ask Zimbabwe what being a forgotten country feels and tastes like.