JOHANNESBURG, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forcast for South Africa's economic growth in 2019, from 1.4 percent to 1.2 percent, citing policy and political uncertainty.

In its world economic outlook, the IMF said South Africa should prioritize eliminating wasteful expenditure on state-owned enterprises and reduce public wage bill.

"The projected recovery reflects modestly reduced but continued policy uncertainty in the South African economy after the May 2019 elections," the IMF said. "Structural reforms, particularly to product and labor markets, would foster an environment conducive to expanding private investment, job creation, and productivity growth."

It said structural bottlenecks will continue to weigh on investment and productivity, and that metal export prices are expected to remain subdued.

The IMF also called on South Africa to exercise fiscal consolidation to stabilize government debt.

It also cut its forecast for South Africa's economic growth in 2020, from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent.

In February, the South African Reserve Bank lowered its 2019 gross domestic product growth forecast, from 1.7 percent to 1.3 percent.

The central bank's forecasts for the country's 2020 and 2021 GDP growth are 1.8 percent and 2 percent respectively.