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Johannesburg - South Africa's economic policymakers should be concerned by a report which showed that South Africa had dropped places according to a global economic competitiveness survey, the Democratic Alliance's trade and industry spokesman, Enyinna Nkem-Abonta, said on Sunday.
South Africa reportedly dropped from 53rd to 56th place.
"This is bad news," said Nkem-Abonta. "Our economic policymakers should be concerned.
"In a global village which the world has become, the watchword is competitiveness - and competition too. On that score, how are we doing?
"The survey says average, mediocre, not too well. This, despite all the progress we have made."
Government was in the habit of "judging our performance against our own performance, because that way we certainly look good".
In a highly competitive world, it is foolish to look at things that way, Nkem-Abonta said.
The truth was that South Africa was not really doing well.
"We have been at the bottom in school educational attainment, beaten by such countries as Zambia and Ghana. What makes this particularly shameful is that such countries are not really our competitors: they are not in our league; in fact no African country is."
On economic growth and employment, South Africa was outperformed by almost every country of a similar level of development, and outperformed even by many poor sub-Saharan economies.
"So too are we on foreign direct investment, world export market share, per capita gross national product, and entrepreneurship. And our effective tax rate continues to be higher than those of many middle-level income countries. So, on the measures that matter we are lagging behind."
Government should initiate bold microeconomic reform, and implement it with resolve.
The reform should aim at giving the economy the maximum possible degree of freedom, and strengthen the capacity of private sector firms to innovate and compete internationally.