The latest job figures and economic projections paint a dire picture and suggest that in the coming months more people will be plunged into poverty. This is very alarming considering that, of the 36-million working-age people in SA, 27.5% are unemployed, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Survey. It is therefore bizarre that there are attempts by the government to weaken the capacity of the state through public service retrenchments. This is either a sign that the government is in denial about the extent of the crisis facing it, or it has run out of ideas. SA’s economic challenges call for bold transformational measures. Foreign direct investment is not a panacea and sometimes worsens the situation by encouraging dependency and stifling transformation. It also undermines the reproduction of capital and savings through massive repatriation of profits. In the current epoch of neoliberalism, the centrist political establishment, which includes the Treasury and Reserve Bank, are c...

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