Tag: President Cyril Ramaphosa

There is a humorous saying: 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. 'It’s often attributed to Albert Einstein, but he isn’t the one who said it. It isn’t the definition of insanity either—but it does describe a trait we could call crazy. Our species tends to repeat past mistakes hoping our 'good intentions' will be enough to change the results—this time.

Discovery CEO Adrian Gore mentioned at the recent Leadership Summit that there is an element of 'declinism' - a pessimism about the state of one’s country - in South Africa, and that it did not accurately represent the situation facing our country.

South Africa was once speculated to have a government workforce larger than that of the United States. Think about that for a second or two. A country whose population numbers close to 57 million with more civil servants than a nation of over 300 million individuals.

Reality can be avoided for only so long. The South African economy has slipped into its first technical recession since 2009. Cyril Ramaphosa’s confidence in growth for the economy has proven hollow. Without a change in the size and the amount of control the state has grasped over the lives of South Africans, without a change in policy from socialism to free markets, this recession was inevitable.

The whole of South Africa is still in shock after the South African Reserve Bank has announced that SA is in a technical recession following two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Most analysts had expected a moderate increase in GDP.

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in a statement last night (31 July 2018) that amendments will be made to the constitution to enable the expropriation of land without compensation.

In February 2018, the African National Congress (ANC) government of South Africa joined with the radical left-leaning Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to approve a motion in parliament to request the Constitutional Review Committee to 'undertake a process of consultation to determine the modalities of the governing party resolution'.

South Africa urgently needs a new approach to deal with dangerously high poverty, unemployment and inequality levels. President Cyril Ramaphosa, has called for a “new deal through we can build an economy that benefits all.” Key elements of such a deal may already be available in the recommendations put forward by Parliament’s High Level Panel, led by former president, Kgalema Motlanthe.

A new word has entered the South African vocabulary - Ramaphoria. The warm fuzzy feeling that permeates the fabric of the new 'New South Africa'. It is really amazing how (effectively) changing one person can make such a difference. The future looks much brighter.

Mr Ramaphosa, like most South Africans I am relieved that you have ascended to the country’s highest political post. However, you of all people know that you start your Presidency with an economy in deep trouble – and one in which the unemployed have been almost completely ignored.