IMF says South Africa needs ambitious fiscal consolidation

By Bhargav Acharya

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that South Africa needed to pursue ambitious fiscal consolidation to restore the sustainability of its public finances.

The statement follows an IMF visit to South Africa in early July to conduct a "post-financing assessment" after its $4.3 billion loan to the country in 2020 to help it fight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Durable expenditure-based consolidation of at least 3 percent of GDP over the next three years is required to place debt on a sustained downward path, while protecting vulnerable groups," the IMF said.

The Fund said South Africa's new government should build on a pre-existing reform agenda while increasing its ambition and accelerating implementation.

"The new government should use the opportunity of a new mandate to implement bold reforms to address long-standing challenges and achieve the economy's full potential," it said.

South Africa's African National Congress formed a broad coalition with several parties including the market-friendly Democratic Alliance after losing its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years in a May election.

The IMF highlighted rising debt, high unemployment, declining gross domestic product per capita, inequality and poverty as some of the issues plaguing the South African economy.

South Africa's National Treasury said talks with the IMF were constructive and that the government was focused on improving the fiscal position and achieving inclusive economic growth that would address poverty and inequality.

"The newly established Government of National Unity is firmly committed to addressing immediate and long-term economic challenges," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Bhargav AcharyaEditing by Alexander Winning and Bill Berkrot)