Economy report paints a bleak picture of SA’s future

It’s no secret the SA economy is limping along and the forecast is not looking promising.

Limping is probably too kind a word to describe the state of our economy.

Covid has cut a swathe through our economy, unemployment is at a record high and the man in the street is struggling to make ends meet.

The forecast of real GDP growth is set to remain below 2% next year and in 2024, which will clearly not address the country’s growing socio-economic needs.

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According to this year’s socio-economic survey of the Centre for Risk Analysis (CRA), released this week, if the government does not address a number of failures, the slide will continue.

It identified key policy risks, including:

• The government’s continued doubling down on damaging regulations in policies, such as the Employment Equity Bill and the draft Companies Amendment Bill;
• Poor business sentiment leading to low levels of investment and growth which, in turn, has led to record-high unemployment rates; a further constraint on household budgets, while the middle class is struggling to meet debt obligations; and
• Lack of jobs having increased a xenophobic sentiment, with protests becoming more violent.

All these don’t make for a pretty picture.

CRA senior economic analyst Bheki Mahlobo said: “South Africa lacks a skilled workforce to be absorbed in specialised employment. These sectors require highly skilled individuals but our education system does not properly equip individuals with such skills.”

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Due to unemployment, far too many South Africans rely on social grants.

It is an untenable situation, and something has to give. We need a quick U-turn, but we wonder if anyone in government is listening…