This convergence was telescoped into the past decade, whereas other developed countries raised their living standards over a much more prolonged period since the Second World War. One result of this more concentrated convergence process has been pressure on the country’s infrastructure. This is currently being addressed in a very substantive way, although it is not something that can be done overnight.
Of course, our economic progress has not been without its ups and downs. We were affected quite significantly by the downturn in the Information Technology sector in 2001, for example, and by the variations in oil prices and exchange rates.