The International Monetary Fund has cut its 2016 growth forecast for South Africa to nearly zero and says the Reserve Bank should consider holding interest rates steady. The fund lowered the 2016 growth outlook for this country to a mere 0.1% - in May its estimate was 0.6%.This is the lowest growth forecast for the country by a major institution and way below the Treasury's 0.9% prediction and the Reserve Bank's 0.6%.The IMF said risks to the economy stemmed mainly from South Africa's links to China, heightened global financial volatility, domestic politics and policies that harmed confidence."As the impact of past policy hikes is still filtering through, the weak economy should keep inflation contained," said an IMF statement released after discussions with South Africa. It said the economy was not keeping up with population growth.The Reserve Bank, which faces a policy dilemma caused by rising prices coinciding with slow growth, has hiked interest rates by 200 basis points in total since January 2014 to try to get inflation down into its target band of 3%-6%.The IMF expects growth to increase by 1.1% next year.The Treasury said it was more positive than the IMF but recognised that structural reforms were necessary to increase growth and create jobs."In the immediate term, we expect growth and employment to be supported by structural reforms and government interventions," said the Treasury. ..