PODCAST | 2022 marred by political risk and uncertainty

Reflecting on the past year’s developments in the economy is the focus in this edition of the Business Day Spotlight. 

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Ndumiso Hadebe, chief economist at KH Equity Partners. 

The discussion first reflects on how the year has gone in the economy, current factors such as the weak rand and a look to how things may play out in the year to come.

Join the discussion:

Hadebe flags political risk as one of the biggest drivers of uncertainty in the current environment. At the start of 2022, few could have predicted a protracted war between Russia and Ukraine but this geopolitical mess is now a reality. 

He points to the ousting of President Jair Bolsonaro by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil; the rotating door of British prime ministers leading to Rishi Sunak’s recent appointment; and the historic third term of Xi Jinping as China’s president as just some of the notable swings in the political landscape. 

In SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s will be fighting to maintain his position as leader of the ruling ANC when the party has its elections in December. A Ramaphosa loss could upend the current national policy agenda, particularly around energy, which is a sore point for the country with no end in sight to rampant power outages.

Topics of discussion include: looking back at the economy in 2022; current factors such as a weak rand; political risk; efforts to curb inflation; and an outlook for the year ahead. 

Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Player.fm