Our Publications
Next steps towards land reform
December 02, 2019
The report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture is a helpful intervention. Yet it should not carry the weight of expectation that has been placed upon it. A central weakness is that it fails to locate its recommendations within the current fiscal crisis.
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Now is the time for CR’s endgame! Statement by CDE on South Africa’s growth and fiscal crisis
November 5, 2019
The mini-budget tabled in parliament last week is a wake-up call. It shows unequivocally that the path South Africa is on is unsustainable: debt is rising, growth is falling, and there is no real plan to get government’s finances under control.
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Running out of Road: South Africa’s public finances and what is to be done
August 28, 2019
South Africa’s fiscal crisis is a result of rapidly rising public spending in an era of slow economic growth, but the accumulation of debt is now slowing economic growth. To address the crisis, government needs to tackle rising public spending. It also needs to ensure that the SOCs, and the industries in which they operate, are restructured.
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News and Opinion
The cost of servicing our debt is eating our future
November 17, 2019
Written by Ann Bernstein
The medium-term budget policy statement (the so-called “mini budget”) should be a wake-up call. It shows how unsustainable our current trajectory is: debt is rising, growth is falling, and there is no real plan to get the government’s finances under control.
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Insights on the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement
October 30, 2019
“South Africa is really getting deeper and deeper into the hole. Tax revenue is less than expected, the savings they told us they were hoping for in February have not materialised. The growth projections are down and our debt-to-GDP ratio is just heading in the wrong direction so at least this was an honest speech and budget set of projections from the minister”, says Ann Bernstein commenting on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement October 2019 on 702 FM
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Reaction to Mboweni medium-term budget speech
October 30, 2019
“The finance minister painted the terrible situation the country is in, we’re going to have lower growth than anticipated, and we’re going to raise less taxes than anticipated. South Africa is in a desperate state. I think the Minister was honest about our situation and he wants reform”, Ann Bernstein’s reflection on the Medium Term Budget Speech
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What’s Happening
Crucial Conversations
September 23, 2019
Please join us for the first in a series of discussions on topical issues, hosted by CDE and Wits University.
Date: Thursday, 10 October 2019
Time: 19:00 (guests to be seated by 18h45 as this event will be televised live)
Place: Donald Gordon auditorium
RSVP: tholoana.phoshodi@wits.ac.za
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The future of export-led industrialisaton: A global perspective
August 26, 2019
Please join us for a lunchtime talk by Dr Philip Schellekens on how export-led manufacturing could play a significant role in reviving the South African economy.
Date: Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Time: 12:00 – 14:00
Place: 5 Eton Road, Parktown
RSVP: events@cde.org.za
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