BONANG MOHALE: Why inclusive growth should be at the heart of SA’s policy priorities
SA has taken the ignominious honour from Brazil of becoming the most unequal society in the world
Inclusive growth has, thus far, proved to be one of the most significant tests of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership. And the stakes are high: failure could mean weakening investor sentiment; stubbornly high unemployment, particularly among the youth; growing inequality leading to poverty; and further social instability. Indeed, ratings agencies look at economic strength as a key consideration, together with institutional strength, fiscal strength and susceptibility to event risks when making investment grading (and outlook) decisions. The key question is what trade-offs are needed to avoid such outcomes. Ramaphosa’s recent announcement of a rescue plan might provide some clues. While the plan will ultimately try to fuse all the government’s growth and transformation initiatives into one framework with the same strategic thrust, Ramaphosa has to chart a multi-faceted strategic course characterised by competing priorities. The strain between these priorities was on full display e...
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