SA is ’10th biggest risk to the world in 2017′, says Time magazine

An analyst writing for Time magazine on Tuesday declared that South Africa is likely to be one of the top 10 risks to the world this year.

US political scientist Ian Bremmer called the country “struggling” and laid the blame mostly at the feet of President Jacob Zuma, who was described as a “deeply unpopular president”, “beset by corruption allegations” and “afraid to pass power to someone he doesn’t trust”.

“The resulting infighting over succession stalls any momentum toward crucial economic reform in the country and limits South Africa’s ability to offer leadership needed to stabilise conflicts inside neighbouring countries.”

Bremmer has pointed to the country’s worryingly low GDP growth of only 0.5% in 2016, with several economists not predicting much improvement in this year or the next.

South Africa also continues to face being downgraded to “junk status” by major credit ratings agencies.

The risks the report named, in order of concern were:

1. Unpredictable America
2. China Overreacting
3. A Power Vacuum in Europe
4. A Pause in Economic Progress
5. Technology Disrupting the Middle East
6. Politics Interfering with Central Banks
7. The White House vs Silicon Valley
8. Turkey’s Ongoing Crackdown
9. North Korea Rattling Its Saber
10. A Struggling South Africa