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The World Bank has just revealed that South Africa has improved by 14 places in its 2016 Logistics Performance Index.  South Africa stands at 20 of 160 countries assessed by this survey, moving up from 34 in 2014.

Reflecting upon South Africa’s significant improvement, Brand South Africa’s CEO said, “The ease of movement for goods and services can contribute significantly to a country’s competitiveness, particularly as a destination for investment.  This improvement in South Africa’s logistics support tells us that South Africa is certainly open for business.”

“Brand South Africa is cognisant of the role of all South Africans in building the country’s reputation and competitiveness.  We welcome this improvement because it communicates the reality of a country and its citizens at work to improve perceptions of South Africa as an investment destination.  This also reinforces perceptions about South Africans, from a range of other studies, as hardworking and welcoming.”

“Brand South Africa therefore also salutes each citizen for playing your part to build the country’s reputation,” concluded Mr Makhubela.

The World Bank assesses the following criteria:

• The efficiency of customs and border clearance
• The quality of trade and transport infrastructure
• The ease of arranging competitively priced shipments
• The competence and quality of logistics services
• The ability to track and trace consignments
• The frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times

At the same time, Brand South Africa welcomes South Africa’s performance in the World Economic Forum’s 2016 The Human Capital Report where the country stands at number 88 of 130 countries.  According to the World Economic Forum this places South Africa “in the 60–70% range with regard to [our] effective overall human capital potential utilisation.”

Commenting on this Mr Kingsley Makhubela said, “a nation’s human capital is its most valuable asset, and this report indicates that more must be done to maximise the potential of our people.  This will require collaboration between government, business and civil society.  Most importantly, it will require the implementation of key programmes including the National Development Plan and the National Youth Policy.  Our national competitiveness rests on each citizen in the country,” concluded Mr Makhubela.

Issued by Brand South Africa