Vol 51 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Tightening the welfare belt 5th March 2010 A centrist budget annoys the people who got the President elected and leaves some economic questions unanswered South Africa is now the biggest welfare state in the developing world and the implications for public finances are frightening. As the recession tapers off, the rising public...
Vol 51 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Small print, big figures 5th March 2010 Monetary and exchange-rate policy In October, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan hinted at big economic changes. The South African Reserve Bank’s inflation strategy would be amended, the 3-6% target range for official inflation...
Vol 51 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA The state of Jacob Zuma 19th February 2010 Jobs and housing, not sex scandals, will determine the President’s future as party rivals struggle for influence in the government Reports of President Jacob Zuma’s political demise are exaggerated. Yet what should have been a moment of triumph for him during the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release...
Vol 51 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Malema, mines and the youth league 19th February 2010 As the African National Congress leadership tries to dampen factional rivalries, some are asking whether Julius Malema, the firebrand President of the ANC Youth League, has moved from...
Vol 51 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICATANZANIABRITAIN Protection in the arms bazaar 19th February 2010 A plea bargain deal in the UK and USA has set back investigations into arms trade crookery in South Africa and Tanzania The US$450 million in fines that BAE Systems agreed to pay on 5 February to halt investigations into corrupt payments on arms deals adds to its financial woes....
Vol 51 No 3 | SOUTH AFRICAOBITUARY David Coetzee 5th February 2010 Over a hundred of us gathered at the Friends Meeting House in Washington DC on 29 January to pay tribute to David Coetzee, a pioneering spirit in African...
Vol 51 No 3 | SOUTH AFRICA It's all mine 5th February 2010 When Mines Minister Susan Shabangu assured South African mining companies that nationalisation would not happen in her lifetime, the reaction at this year’s mining indaba in Cape Town...
Vol 51 No 1 | SOUTH AFRICA Global plaudits, local travails 8th January 2010 Despite the doubters, President Zuma’s government is set to hold a successful World Cup but will face demands for action on jobs and services In his New Year address, President Jacob Zuma likened 2010 to 1994, when South Africa became a democracy. To the outside world, the only big event happening in...
Vol 51 No 1 | SOUTH AFRICA Walking right, talking left 8th January 2010 The African National Congress’s loud debate over economic policy will continue in 2010. The Left demands a more interventionist stance than that of the then Finance Minister, Trevor...
Vol 3 (AAC) No 11 | SOUTH AFRICACHINA Relations have never been better 22nd September 2010 If only half of the recent deals signed by China and South Africa come to fruition, they promise to revolutionise Africa's biggest economy From energy and construction to transport and agriculture, President Jacob Zuma's 23-26 August trip to China has garnered billions of dollars in potential investments across the economic spectrum....