Here’s why a train and its tracks are a good simile for the SA economy
We need as many people shovelling coal as we can muster, but far too many are locked out
As a non-economist the way I think about the SA economy is that it resembles an old steam train. The locomotive power is provided by the formal economy — the engine that pulls the rest of the train along. The people shovelling coal are largely in the private sector. They are directed by an engineer (the government) who, together with conductors and other members of the crew, facilitate order, collect tickets (taxes) and make sure passengers generally behave themselves. The more productive and powerful the locomotive engine, the more rapidly the entire train can move. If the engine falters we all go nowhere fast.
Unfortunately, many carriages at the back of the SA train are heavily laden with low-productivity workers, the informal sector and the unemployed — all are passengers on the train. The more carriages they occupy, the larger their weight and numbers, the harder the locomotive must work to pull the train along the track since all movement depends upon the power of the l...
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