South Africa faces tough economic environment: IMF

South Africa faces a challenging economic environment, with growth in 2016 seen at 0.6 percent, entailing falling per-capita income, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

In a statement released after an annual mission, the IMF said it anticipated a muted recovery from 2017. Risks to the outlook were however tilted to the downside, including further shocks from China, a key consumer of South African commodities, and possible credit rating downgrades.

“Moving forward, structural reforms are imperative to reduce policy uncertainty, boost confidence, tackle structural impediments, and lower vulnerabilities,” the global lender said.