SA IS blessed with a treasure trove of natural resources. Some say the country holds the richest reserves of minerals in the world. It also has a population with the abilities and cultural diversity to develop them.In addition, it offers a gateway and hub to a continent with vast market and economic growth potential.Yet the signs are ominous.Since 1986, the secondary sector has fallen from 30% to approximately 21% of GDP, while the mining sector has fallen from 13% to 7%. And the tertiary sector has grown from 51% to 69% of GDP.Some of these trends are a normal development in economies with a rapidly growing standard of living, but for a country at SA’s stage of economic development, these shifts are excessive.Since 2008, the situation has worsened, with GDP growth falling to below 2%. Growth in mining and manufacturing has been negligible, while agricultural growth has averaged only 1% a year.Since 1995, the population has grown from 45-million to 55-million, but unemployment has g...
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