Rwanda has risen one position continentally in the Global Competitiveness report 2017/18 to take second place in Africa.

The report, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), has Mauritius in first place and 45th globally, while South Africa came in third in Africa.

However, the report’s latest release, published on Tuesday, showed that, globally, Rwanda has slipped six positions from 52nd to 58th.

Regionally, Rwanda maintained its position as East Africa’s most competitive economy with Kenya in 91st position and Tanzania in 113th. Uganda was ranked 114th and Burundi 129th.

The report’s authors’ noted that Rwanda had maintained top position in the continent largely due to efficient markets and a stable political position.

"Rwanda remains among the most competitive African countries thanks to efficient goods and labor markets and a stable political situation that supports robust GDP growth (above 6 percent for the next few years),” the report reads in part.

 The drop in ranking in global context was explained as a result of decline in health and primary education performance.  

"Lower health and primary education, and macroeconomic environment’s scores drive most of Rwanda’s decline. In terms of health and primary education, malaria cases rose from about 11,000 per 100,000 people in 2013 to almost 31,000 in 2015 while the primary enrolment rate reduced from 96.1 per cent to 95.1 per cent,” the report reads further.

Last year’s inflation rates driven by the prices of food stuff also hurt the country’s overall performance.

Rwanda’s inflation rate rose to about 7.3 per cent in December last year up from 6.4 per cent in November of the same year owing to food prices.  It has since come down to 3.2 per cent as of August this year and is expected to drop further by the end of the year.

"In terms of macroeconomic environment Rwanda suffered especially from doubling inflation which passed from 2.5 per cent in 2015 to 5.7 per cent in 2016. In addition, despite large investments in telecommunication and transport infrastructure, a gap remains in these factors for now,” the report noted.

According to feedback from respondents doing business in the country, Rwanda’s main problematic areas for business people include access to financing, tax rates, shortage of educated workforce (leading to a small pool of human resources), inflation as well as low supply of infrastructure.

Richard Samans, head of Centre for Global Agenda and a member of the Board of World Economic Forum, said that despite recovery in the global economy, prevailing growth strategies and models of economic progress are increasingly being called into question.

"Prevailing growth strategies and models of economic progress are increasingly being called into question. In advanced economies, distributional questions have moved to the foreground, occasionally with political consequences. In emerging markets, such questioning could be fueled by the unfulfilled aspirations of a broadening middle class,” he said.

Samans said economic growth ought to be reflected in availability of resources for welfare such as education health and security (as is the case with Rwanda).

"However, there is widespread agreement that economic growth is important for human development and well-being. Growth creates the resources needed for better education, health, and security, and for higher incomes,” he added.

The Global Competitiveness Report seeks to provoke constructive policy dialogue among policy-makers, business leaders and members of the civil society.

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide, providing a platform for dialogue between government, business and civil society about the actions required to improve economic prosperity.

The different aspects of competitiveness are captured in 12 pillars, which compose the Global Competitiveness Index.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw