CEO Closing Remarks at the launch of the Productivity Stats Report 2022

Productivity SA CEO Mothunye Mothiba’s closing remarks at the occasion of the launch of the productivity statistics report 2022 on 28 October 2022

Programme Director, Ladies and genglemen, today’s event closes the chapter in our calender for the Productivity Month (october, which is declared Productivity Month in South Afica), and your presence and articipation is important in many ways.

First, this event provided us a platform for dialogue and would not have been successful without the great audience like you and the excellent speakers who shared wisdom with us on the subject matter – Productivity Statistics and the importance of measurement and evaluation.

Thank you to the chairman of the Board, Professor Mthunzi Mdwaba for always being by us and leading by example as a Productivity Ambassador. I know you have had a very hectic schedule, yesterday you addressed SATUCC, this morning you are here and shall be a keynote speaker at a SA Heart/Cardiologists Congress. We appreciate your support and the leadership provided by the entire board, which is critical as we strive to inculcate a productivity culture and mindset in our country.

Programme director, ladies and gentlemen the chairman is spot-on in reminding us of the words of the former President Mandela that “Democracy will have little content, and indeed, will be short lived if we cannot address our socio-economic problems within an expanding and growing economy.” It is very true (as has been recognised globally that we should elevate the importance of productivity and inculcate a culture of competitiveness in every South African and demonstrate the positive changes that can be brought about through productivity improvement, if we want a better life as South Africans.

Thank you to the speakers who have come from far away, and allow me to single out Advocate Lavan Gopaul, Economics and Financial Markets Analyst. You gave us a wake-up call as you reflected on the macro-economic outlook that, if we are not productive as a nation, we will starve, if not perish. Also that, our unemployment rate is a confirmation of the large majority of our population (particularly youth) are excluded form productive activity, which is not good for any economy.

Secondly, this event confirms the adage that, “Productivity is everybody’s business for everyone’s benefit” and Dr Raputsoane, our Chief Economist, painted a picture of how our economy and the critical sectors are performing. As an authority in the field of measuring and evaluating productivity and competitiveness, he has empowered us as policy makers, leaders in business and labour, as well as academics as well as stakeholders in the labour market with the information and tools to make meaningful decisions that will improve productivity growth, and economic performance to create the much-needed jobs.

Dr Leroi gave us hope that, in all the challenges that we are facing as a nation, we should take cognisance and inspiration in the fact that the 2022 productivity statistics reflect a recovery in the economy post the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020.

The recovery was underpinned by the ongoing outcomes of the government led fiscal support to the business community and the public, improved demand from consumers for face-to-face services as well as the recovery in local markets, such as the goods and services, labour, and financial assets markets. However, the global geopolitical instability and domestic social unrest represent emerging risks for the economy in the medium term. Consequently, Labour productivity and Multifactor productivity accelerated in 2021 following a significant decline in growth during 2020 while Capital productivity recorded a deceleration in growth during 2021 after it increased substantially during 2020.

The production of main sectors that contribute to our economy recorded a substantial acceleration in growth during 2021. This was particularly the case with the Primary sector which outperformed both the Secondary and Tertiary sectors. The recovery of Mining and quarrying sectors boosted the primary sector’s growth, while Agriculture, forestry and fishing remained resilient.

Sadly, there was underperformance of the Construction Sector, Electricity generation, gas, and water as well as real estate and business services. Shortages in Electricity and water have been an ongoing concern for most people.

Thirdly, the 2022 Productivity Statistics, therefore, provide us indicators of which industrial sectors we should focus our attention and programme interventions (leveraging productivity growth) on as a nation, if we are serious about improving economic performance.

This event created a platform for us to engage and seek solutions to address the continued productivity slowdown of the critical sectors and enterprises (particularly of SMEs which are the drivers of economic growth) which damages the productive capacities of capital and workers (Total Factor Productivity), thus, impacting economic recovery and employment growth.

From here, we should all continue to strive for a better South Africa by improving productivity in our workplaces and in society in general. I hope that this event is just another springboard for us to continue with positive dialogue that will lead us to solutions.

While the world of work as we know it is continually changing, we should match this with continuous improvement, which is at the heart of what productivity is all about.

Going forward, our work is cut-out, and the marching orders are clear – Create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprises.

Tim Ferriss, American podcaster, author, and entrepreneur once said: “Focus on being productive instead of busy.”

I thank you all. Continue being productivity ambassadors.