President Cyril Ramaphosa has been trying hard to drum up support for South Africa in the international investment community. As he noted in his recent e-letter to citizens, he was in London talking to influential individuals at the FT Summit on Africa 2019 Â where he highlighted moves to inject fresh spark into the economy, including making it easier for skilled foreigners to work in South Africa. But, Ramaphosa has failed to convince the world that he has what it takes to fix SA fast. As The Economist notes, Ramaphosa appears unwilling to upset people – a reference, perhaps, to his reluctance to support controversial, but business-friendly, ideas proposed by Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni for fear of making other ANC leaders unhappy. Ramaphosa needs to move quickly now as he is running out of time to reform South Africa, the publication tells its global audience of business leaders. – Jackie Cameron
By Thulasizwe Sithole
Twenty-five years after the end of apartheid, South Africa is at a perilous moment, warns The Economist.
It says that the country is at a crossroads and that if the president is not willing to upset people, the economy will not grow.
The Economist emphasises a “need for speed” in the article, which carries the headline: “Cyril Ramaphosa is running out of time to reform South Africa”.
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“Years of corruption under Jacob Zuma, the man Mr Ramaphosa replaced as president, ravaged a country that was already facing deep problems,” it tells its readers.
“Today the rainbow nation has unemployment of 29%, one of the highest rates in the world. Growth has been negative in three of the past six quarters.
“Public debt as a share of GDP is rising steadily, partly thanks to insolvent state-owned enterprises such as Eskom, a power utility that cannot keep the lights on,” continues The Economist.
“In the next few weeks Moody’s may become the third large credit-rating agency to downgrade the country’s debt,” it warns.
