Key Points:
- Shared growth can only be possible for an unequal society like South Africa if there is a national consensus on how to deal with the most pressing challenges facing society: unemployment, inequality and the prevalence of disease.
- In Gauteng, 69% of the budget goes towards education, social development, health. The other 31% is poured into the economy to stimulate growth. This is key to shaping shared growth in a developmental state – an acceptable split between the provision of social services and economic growth.
- The state has a major role to play in the process of social reconstruction and economic development, the major task at the moment being building the organisation and capacity of the state.
- Collectively, South Africa needs to discover how the developmental state can allocate resources in such a way that it meets the challenge of stimulating growth while at the same time addressing issues such as the provision of social services.
