THICK END OF THE WEDGE
PETER BRUCE: President Ramaphosa must go big with stimulus plan
Click on the website of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, the inter-ministerial committee that oversees the government’s vast infrastructure spend, and you’ll be greeted by the warm but always fatal grin of one Jacob Zuma. The website, nominally under the control of the department of economic development, has not been updated since late 2016. Zuma’s welcoming note to the site says, in part: "In SA joblessness is still unacceptably high even with recent growth in jobs numbers. Global economic prospects remain fragile. In response, the government of the Republic of South Africa has taken a bold decision. We have chosen a path of counter-cyclical spending driven by catalytic infrastructure investment. We are striking a fine balance between protecting our sovereign integrity while leveraging the multiplier impact of fixed capital formation." Ah, the good old counter-cyclical days, eh Mr President? I’d advise economic development minister Ebrahim Patel to update t...
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