IMF senior resident representative in SA, Axel Schimmelpfennig, is leaving the country.
Schimmelpfennig, whose four-year term comes to an end in August, will be succeeded by Montie Mlachila, currently in Washington as the fund’s mission chief for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Mlachila will report for duty in SA in September.
Schimmelpfennig, who spoke to Business Day exclusively and reflected on his four years in the country, said the country had made significant progress in many areas.
However, he said that issues remained, particularly the country’s twin challenges of poor education and high unemployment.
To reverse this, SA has to achieve "high and inclusive" economic growth that brings more people into employment at "reasonable" wages.
"The most important area is education, where SA spends a lot of money, but learners are not given the skills they need to succeed in the labour market.
"Over the last two decades, more students have been given access to education, which is fantastic.
"Now, the quality of education needs to be urgently improved," Schimmelpfennig said.
The IMF has been critical of SA lately and slashed the country’s 2016 economic growth outlook to just 0.1%, from 0.6%.
The fund reiterated calls for the state to institute reforms including in labour and education.
The country’s high unemployment remains problematic, with many institutions having highlighted the issue as a risk to social stability.
READ THIS: THICK END OF THE WEDGE: IMF executive’s lecture a warning to change course
Statistics SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey on Thursday is expected to show that unemployment in the country remains high. About 5.7-million people were unemployed in the first quarter of 2016.
"Creating a conducive environment for small and medium enterprises, which are typically a source of job creation, is important (and) ... here SA needs to look critically at barriers for such enterprises including the wage-bargaining and extension mechanism," Schimmelpfennig said.
SA is going through difficult times because its economic growth is being outpaced by its population growth. This is a recipe for disaster because it translates to the average South African being worse off and there are "by far too many people who are excluded from the labour market", Schimmelpfennig said.
However, there are a few bright spots. Schimmelpfennig commended the "good progress" made in the power sector, which enabled a "more reliable electricity supply".
Although power outages remain a challenge in some areas because of cable theft, among other factors, Eskom has not implemented rolling blackouts for months.
POINT OF VIEW: IMF senior resident representative Axel Schimmelpfennig’s four-year term in SA ends in August. Picture: FINANCIAL MAIL
IMF senior resident representative in SA, Axel Schimmelpfennig, is leaving the country.
Schimmelpfennig, whose four-year term comes to an end in August, will be succeeded by Montie Mlachila, currently in Washington as the fund’s mission chief for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Mlachila will report for duty in SA in September.
Schimmelpfennig, who spoke to Business Day exclusively and reflected on his four years in the country, said the country had made significant progress in many areas.
However, he said that issues remained, particularly the country’s twin challenges of poor education and high unemployment.
To reverse this, SA has to achieve "high and inclusive" economic growth that brings more people into employment at "reasonable" wages.
"The most important area is education, where SA spends a lot of money, but learners are not given the skills they need to succeed in the labour market.
"Over the last two decades, more students have been given access to education, which is fantastic.
"Now, the quality of education needs to be urgently improved," Schimmelpfennig said.
The IMF has been critical of SA lately and slashed the country’s 2016 economic growth outlook to just 0.1%, from 0.6%.
The fund reiterated calls for the state to institute reforms including in labour and education.
The country’s high unemployment remains problematic, with many institutions having highlighted the issue as a risk to social stability.
READ THIS: THICK END OF THE WEDGE: IMF executive’s lecture a warning to change course
Statistics SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey on Thursday is expected to show that unemployment in the country remains high. About 5.7-million people were unemployed in the first quarter of 2016.
"Creating a conducive environment for small and medium enterprises, which are typically a source of job creation, is important (and) ... here SA needs to look critically at barriers for such enterprises including the wage-bargaining and extension mechanism," Schimmelpfennig said.
SA is going through difficult times because its economic growth is being outpaced by its population growth. This is a recipe for disaster because it translates to the average South African being worse off and there are "by far too many people who are excluded from the labour market", Schimmelpfennig said.
However, there are a few bright spots. Schimmelpfennig commended the "good progress" made in the power sector, which enabled a "more reliable electricity supply".
Although power outages remain a challenge in some areas because of cable theft, among other factors, Eskom has not implemented rolling blackouts for months.
