OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday
TOP global economists are urging the South African government to speed up land reforms as part of measures suggested to boost sluggish economic growth, says finance minister Trevor Manuel.
Manuel said this was one of the issues which came up at a brainstorming session at the weekend with visiting economists, along with World Bank head James Wolfensohn and International Monetary Fund deputy managing director Eduardo Aninat.
”There was a very clear call from the visitors here with us that we need to sharpen the implementation of land reform, not just for the sake of land reform but also because it is an important part of generating incomes amongst the rural poor,” Manuel said in a radio interview.
This would also have an impact on migration patterns from urban to rural areas, he added.
Land restitution for South Africa’s black population has moved at a snail’s pace since the demise of apartheid in 1994, a trend which has become more worrying since Zimbabwe’s land ownership crisis erupted earlier this year.
Wolfensohn told a news conference that Zimbabwe’s political turmoil – which has exacerbated the country’s worst economic crisis since independence – should have little impact on South Africa as an investment target.
But analysts say part of the rand’s steep decline of around 24% to the dollar this year can be attributed to overseas concerns that an illegal land grab in Zimbabwe, backed by the government, could one day be repeated in South Africa.
South Africa’s president Thabo Mbeki said the workshop had concluded that the country was pursuing sound economic policies but would have to consider various ways of boosting growth to create badly-needed jobs.
One of the key issues was to boost domestic investment in small and medium-sized businesses, as this was a key source of future employment, Manuel said. – Reuters