South Africa’s economy needs further reforms to revive growth and create new jobs, according to a new survey from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The OECD survey states that the South African economy has registered tremendous progress over the past two decades, boosting living standards and lifting millions out of poverty nationwide, but that wide-ranging structural reforms will be needed to put the economy on a new growth trajectory, boost job creation and improve inclusivity.    

The survey, presented in Pretoria by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and South African Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba, identifies priority areas for future action, including continuing efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability, improve the business environment and deepen regional integration, all of which are critical for inclusive growth and job creation.  

“South Africa has accomplished many great things in the past two decades, but building stronger and more inclusive growth will require bold action from policymakers,” Gurría said. “Ensuring a better future for all South Africans will require increased access to higher education, a stronger and fairer labour market, deeper participation in regional markets and a regulatory framework that fosters entrepreneurship and allows small businesses to thrive. Many of the necessary reforms will be difficult, but the rewards will be worth the effort.”

 The survey suggests a range of structural policy reforms. It encourages South Africa to open key sectors, including telecommunications, energy, transport and services, to more competition. It also says that moving forward with the planned introduction of a national minimum wage will reduce in-work poverty and inequality. Wider development of apprenticeship and internship programmes will also increase the inclusion of youth in the labour market, while streamlining the labour dispute system should increase flexibility and lower barriers to job creation.

 “Skills shortages and mismatches remain key bottlenecks to growth and inclusiveness, and access to higher education remains limited. Establishing a universal student loan scheme contingent on future earnings, with the participation of banks and backed by government guarantees, is a feasible solution,” the OECD survey stated.

South Africa’s unemployment rate stood at 27.7% in the first quarter of 2017, the highest since 2003.