Brand South Africa has welcomed South Africa’s improvement by 14 places in the World Bank’s 2016 Logistics Performance Index.

South Africa stands at 20 of 160 countries assessed by the survey, moving up from 34 in 2014. Brand South Africa’s CEO Kingsley Makhubela said: “The ease of movement for goods and services can contribute significantly to a country’s competitiveness, particularly as a destination for investment.

“This improvement in South Africa’s logistics support tells us that South Africa is certainly open for business.” He said Brand South Africa is cognisant of the role of all South Africans in building the country’s reputation and competitiveness.

“We welcome this improvement because it communicates the reality of a country and its citizens at work to improve perceptions of South Africa as an investment destination. This also reinforces perceptions about South Africans, from a range of other studies, as hardworking and welcoming,” said Makhubela.

He said Brand South Africa salutes each citizen for playing their part to build the country’s reputation.

The World Bank assesses the following criteria:

– The efficiency of customs and border clearance
– The quality of trade and transport infrastructure
– The ease of arranging competitively priced shipments
– The competence and quality of logistics services
– The ability to track and trace consignments
– The frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times – SAnews.gov.za