Economists have been raising their forecasts for SA’s GDP growth, yet few see it averaging more than 3% a year without major policy shifts. Meanwhile, excessive household debt, combined with localisation policies, entrenches our extreme unemployment. At the core of our unemployment crisis are those who left school several years ago and, having never been…Continue reading Bold policy pivots are needed for SA to change lanes

It is easy to make the case that free speech is under threat in some leading democracies, particularly the UK. Our free speech risks being made impotent by a delusion-riven national conversation. Justice Malala, who writes a popular column for South Africa’s leading business newspaper, recently asserted: “The employment numbers are horrendous, but can be…Continue reading How neglect risks South Africa’s free speech

Shawn Hagedorn says there is nothing inherently sustainable about mega construction projects which are politically motivated President Ramaphosa declared last month, “We have a clear intention to turn our country into a construction site, as roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals and clinics are built, as broadband fibre is laid and as new power lines are…Continue reading CR’s construction site vs WB’s export hub

Capital market economists’ preferred metrics cannot reveal solutions to unemployment crisis Just as Olympic medal counts don’t reflect the athleticism of their countries’ typical citizens, so GDP statistics can’t accurately portray the health of our economy.  The US won the most medals at the summer Olympics despite most Americans being overweight. SA’s GDP trajectory is…Continue reading Let small businesses create the growth-affirming solutions SA needs

There are no realistic scenarios in which our domestic economy can sustain adequate employment growth. It seems reasonable to presume that the way to increase jobs is to grow the economy. Yet low economic growth has merely amplified the deeper causes which explain South Africa having the world’s most severe − and perhaps most deeply…Continue reading GDP growth can’t remedy SA’s jobs crisis

Political evolution sparked in 2024 must deliver for SA’s unemployed Given the magnitude of domestic and international events since our 29 May elections, expectations and goals await a reset. The success of our new national governance structure should be gauged by the number of productive jobs created. The year 2024 will be routinely referenced. In…Continue reading Charting a post-2024 course

Upliftment requires increasing the productivity of workers who are serving markets with substantial discretionary income Our political economy has evolved with little regard for 21st-century economic development basics. We must begin to turn the corner by recognising that while universal basic income grants can efficiently mitigate the hardships of extreme poverty, they can’t reduce unemployment. …Continue reading Basic income grants can soften poverty, but not joblessness

When only 80% of the ballots had been counted, Nicolás Maduro declared that he had been reelected as Venezuela’s president with 51.2% of the vote.  Maduro’s dubious assertion demonstrated open contempt for accountability by the president of the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves. It is much harder to hold accountable the governing…Continue reading Venezuela’s relevance to SA

Voters on both sides should ensure facts and logic transcend perceptions and biases Donald Trump encourages people to doubt his judgment. Sometimes he proves doubters wrong; at other times he reinforces their suspicions. President Joe Biden, a traditional politician, played to his supporters’ biases. This has backfired on his party in ways that should spur…Continue reading Trump and Biden show why well-informed judgments trump judging

Although we may never know why Thomas Crooks tried to kill Donald Trump, his failed attempt has further wounded a freshly hobbled woke movement. Easily recalled images of John Kennedy’s motorcade are associated with fraught politics and myriad conspiracy theories. Mistakes made by the US Secret Service (USSS) on 22 November 1963 were profoundly consequential,…Continue reading The Wokeness retreat – tactical or inevitable?