12 | FRIDAY January 24 2020South Africa faces the prospect of continuously declining economic prospects for as long as the politicians continue focusing on personal power plays and access to the feeding trough of corruption, according to the United Nations 2020 World Economic Situation and Prospects report.It estimates that economic growth was 0.5% in 2019 – which was “well below potential amid weak investment, energy shortages and high unemployment. In his foreword, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres writes “economic risks remain strong, aggravated by deepening political polarisation and increasing scepticism about the benefits of multilateralism”.These political machinations have significantly curtailed investment and pushed global trade growth down to 0.3% in 2019 — its lowest level in a decade. Local companies looking for export growth in the region will be facing the same challenges they do at home – only Malawi is singled out as a beacon of light in southern Africa.There is what the report describes as “an elevated risk that difficult economic conditions in some countries in southern Africa could become more entrenched, leading to more prolonged recessions in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe”.In contrast, Malawi’s economy is projected to grow by more than 4%t in 2020 and 2021.
INSERT: South Africa is one of the countries listed as potentially benefiting from increased demand for resources used in low-carbon technology.