From lockdown to Thuma Mina: impact of economic reform on South Africa’s prospects

A pro-growth social compact and evidence-based economic policy could dramatically improve the country’s prospects.

Long-term forecasts show that the country’s development trajectory is increasingly untenable. With the economic impact of COVID-19, growth rates will be too low to alleviate poverty, inequality and unemployment. South Africa does however have options. A pro-growth social compact and evidence-based economic policy could, by 2044, dramatically improve the country’s prospects.

About the author

Dr Jakkie Cilliers founded the Institute for Security Studies. He was executive director until 2015, and is now Board of Trustees chair and head of the African Futures and Innovation programme. He is an Extraordinary Professor in the Centre of Human Rights and Department of Political Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, and a renowned author and analyst. His most recent book, Africa First! Igniting a growth revolution, was published in March 2020.

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