AFP reported that investors warned that rolling strikes in South Africa could hit investment in the continent s largest economy, as industrial action continued to spread across sectors.

Investors warned that a failure to solve the impasse would have a severe impact on the mining sector in particular, which accounts for a fifth of South Africa's GDP.

Mr Cobus Venter director of investment consulting firm Econex said”I don't think it has done damage yet, but I think if it is not knocked on the head in the short term, it can have considerable negative effects on the long-term innovation climate in South Africa.”

He told AFP “The illegal action combined with uncertainties about the future of labour law in South Africa, compounded with the impact of uncertainty on mineral rights in South Africa is quite a toxic combination.”

With coal miners, truck drivers and yet more gold miners becoming the latest groups to down tools, concern is growing about the long-term impact on South Africa's economy despite optimism over the continent's current economic path. With 24,000 miners on strike at Gold Fields mines, around 20,000 at Anglo American Platinum and at least 17,500 at AngloGold Ashanti, firms have seen production slashed, while being left with weakened union interlocutors.

Source - AFP

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