It has done this because it has been able to invest in capital to continuously raise productivity and because of its ability to produce a steady stream of competent and appropriately skilled young workers. Germany has used the furnace of an open economy to put pressure on both workers and firms to remain productive and remain at the cutting edge of technology.
While several sectors in South Africa are globally competitive, there are too many sectors that are not. South Africa has to raise its competitiveness across the board, but particularly in the tradable goods and services sector. This is the only long term solution to structural weaknesses in our economy that presents itself through large current account deficits.