Sub-Saharan Africa makes biggest gains in economic freedom

SA falls into 'mostly free' category ED RICHARDSON THE SUB-Saharan region, which includes South Africa, has made the biggest gains in economic freedom, according to the 2005 Index for Economic Freedom published by the US-based Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal. “Its average and median scores have improved by 0.32 points since the 1997 Index,” say the editors Marc A. Miles, Edwin Feulner and Mary Anastasia O’Grady. The most improved country in the world is Madagascar, with better scores on trade policy, fiscal burden of government, informal market and monetary policy. Yet sub-Saharan Africa also has the country that declined the most - Ethiopia. Uganda fell into the “mostly unfree” category. Zimbabwe “improved somewhat, but is still repressed”. The region’s freest country, Botswana, also improved, its market-led economy generating one of the world’s highest average growth rates. South Africa’s capital flows and foreign investment score and banking and finance score are one point worse this year. However, the country’s trade policy score is two points better, and the fiscal burden of government score is 0.1 point better. As a result, South Africa’s overall score is 0.01 points better this year. The country falls in the “mostly free” economic category. Another of the positives is security of property rights. “The threat of expropriation is low. The judiciary is independent, and contractual arrangements are generally secure,” says the report.