Former President Thabo Mbeki wants South Africa and Nigeria to pull up their socks. File picture: Masi Losi / Independent Newspapers
Former president Thabo Mbeki has warned that sluggish growth in South Africa is pulling down other economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and the situation needs to be addressed.
Mbeki said various reports have shown that if major economies in Africa are not performing well, that has a detrimental effect on the rest of the continent.
At the moment, both Nigeria and South Africa are not doing well, with their economies struggling. South Africa and Nigeria are the two major economies in Africa.
Mbeki called on South Africa to sort out its economy.
South Africa has been experiencing low economic growth in the last few years. The economy has not grown above 5% in the last 10 years.
Mbeki, who was speaking on Russia Today, said South Africa needs to get its house in order.
He said the reports of the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund point to the fact that low economic growth in major economies in Africa is affecting the rest of the continent.
The South African economy was in bad shape, and it pulled down the rest of Africa.
The Nigerian economy was also in the same position.
These major economies need to pull up their socks in order for the continent to grow.
“We as South Africans need to sort out the problems of the South African economy because the more South Africa declines, the more it brings down other countries on the continent. We’ve got to turn it around. I am saying in the South African case, you will see all of the reports of the organisations I mentioned; they will say what is impacting negatively on this growth are the big countries in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Mbeki.
“All of them have got to attend to this matter of the challenge of achieving the necessary higher rates and sustained rates of growth,” he said.
He said the reports of these organisations were clear: once the major economies pull up their socks, the rest of the continent will achieve growth.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics