LETTER: Did falling gold output sway De Klerk?
Maybe FW realised costly ‘war’ could no longer be sustained as sanctions reduced other exports
It is quite possible that the decline of gold mining also played a role in the decisions made by FW de Klerk. (“De Klerk was a leader at war with his history”, November 11).
The fall in production severely reduced gold’s contribution to the SA economy. The metal contributed 3.8% of GDP in 1993, falling to 1.7% in 2013. Maybe FW realised the costly “war” could no longer be sustained as sanctions reduced other exports.
The fall in gold production has had a major effect on SA’s economy since the 1990s and was a huge contributing factor to unemployment as mines shut and the myriad businesses supporting them closed down.
Dennis Hoines
Via BusinessLIVE
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