Only by dealing with supply-side bottlenecks and labour disruptions and by improving productivity could South Africa achieve the growth numbers set out in the National Development Plan (NDP), Frost & Sullivan senior economist Craig Parker said on Tuesday.

Frost & Sullivan consultant Floriane Cutler added that, to achieve the sustainable growth and development targeted by the NDP, cross-sector measures and reforms would be required.

The NDP targeted national economic growth of 5.4% a year by 2030, which was more than double the 2012 figure and, therefore, all national economic and development strategies, including the Department of Trade and Industry’s Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap), had to be aligned with the plan, Cutler said.

Although the NDP anticipated that by 2030 the share of gross domestic product that manufacturing commanded would be less than it is currently, the size of the sector would grow.

The Ipap dealt with labour-intensive manufacturing's contribution to dealing with the challenge of unemployment, with key areas of ongoing intervention including mineral beneficiation, the development of new export markets, the diffusion of innovation and technology and local procurement.

Before the Ipap could be successfully implemented, however, South Africa first had to deal with productivity issues, Parker said, adding that, “we could be spending significant amounts of money on the preparation under Ipap, but would still remain uncompetitive if we do not address the fundamentals of comparative advantage”.

Meanwhile, despite the Ipap having been in existence since 2007, private sector awareness of the programme and its implications seemed to be remarkably low, Frost & Sullivan head of public sector growth solutions Adri Grobler said.

“In addition to this, businesses still seem sceptical about the effective implementation of suggested interventions and specifically about the speed of implementation,” she added.

The successful implementation of the NDP would require unprecedented trust between business, labour and government.

“This is arguably the principal challenge, but it is crucial to reverse the economic decline of South Africa,” she concluded.