Alec Hogg: SA doubles down on Development State

Last night's cabinet reshuffle sent a clear message to South Africans: president Cyril Ramaphosa has doubled down on his Developmental State ideology.

For rational minds, this means last month's rock-bottom was indeed one of sandstone rather than granite – a new soft base rather than one the country will bounce off. It is now clear the ANC leopard will not change its spots. Until this government is replaced at the ballot box, the country will continue to plumb ever lower depths.

In the immediate aftermath of July's anarchy, many were hopeful that Pretoria would finally realise the ANC's destructive economic policies had fuelled to the chaos. They believed an out-of-touch so continuously "shocked" Ramaphosa would emerge from the disaster with a fresh appreciation his party's outdated and failed ideology needed to be replaced with pragmatism.

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