In his concluding remarks during the release of the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Olivier Blanchard argued that the challenge for national policymakers was to “re-establish confidence through a clear plan to deal with both the legacies of the crisis and the challenge of low potential growth”.

Both advanced and emerging market countries needed to go beyond the general mantra of “structural reforms” and identify which reforms were most needed and which were politically feasible.

Blanchard’s remarks, while generic, appear especially pertinent to South Africa, where it is common cause that the economy is not performing to its potential and that, increasingly, domestic constraints are to blame.

Indeed, the October WEO underlined the point by again cutting the growth outlook for South Africa for 2014.

In a repeat of what is now an entrenched pattern, the IMF lowered the 2014 growth projection for South Africa to 1.4%, having projected growth of 2.3% in April and 1.7% in July. Similarly, the outlook for 2015 was reduced from 2.7% in July to 2.3% in October.

Growth in South Africa, the WEO states, has “remained lacklustre, dragged down by protracted strikes, low business confidence and tight electricity supply”. A depreciation of the rand has also resulted in only a limited amount of much-needed external adjustment.

The IMF is forecasting a “muted recovery” only from 2015, as improving labour relations allow inventory rebuilding and gradually stronger net exports to offset the drag from financial tightening.

By contrast, activity in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, has been “resilient” despite poor security conditions and a decline in oil production earlier in the year. The West African economy is forecast to grow by 7% this year and by 7.3% in 2015.

Likewise, growth in sub-Saharan Africa has remained strong, with 5.1% growth forecast for the region in 2014, rising to 5.8% in 2015.

This upbeat assessment, it must be said, comes with a health warning, figuratively and literally. The WEO cautions that, should the Ebola outbreak become more protracted or spread to more countries, the consequences for economic activity in the West African region could be “dramatic”.

Confirmation of South Africa’s weak growth outlook should act as yet another wake-up call. Remedying this obvious underperformance needs to be at the centre of the upcoming Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, as well as the October 24 Presidential Business Working Group meeting.

But, to achieve progress, the trust relationship between the public and private sectors needs to be restored, because, unless it is, South Africa will have little or no chance of meeting the target of 5% growth by 2019, never mind realising the aspirations outlined in the National Development Plan.

To its credit, South Africa has a plan, no matter how contested it currently is. But, as Blanchard argued, it is now time for South Africa to re-establish confidence, which will provide the real oxygen of any future growth cycle.