Key Points:
- Policy-making in the period 1999 to 2004 will be critical for South Africa. The country will either establish itself as a successful market economy, or find itself in deteriorating socio-economic conditions that will threaten the very foundation of its democracy.
- Key economic reforms are urgently necessary if South Africa is to develop a competitive economy. The labour market is only one of the numerous areas that require attention.
- Structural changes should combat: the shortage of skilled people; crime and corruption; the poor administration of provinces and cities; low investment in economic infrastructure; and changes to labour legislation.
- Detailed policy development and implementation should be decentralised. Hundreds of different experiments should be encouraged.
- If we want South Africa to become the world’s most desirable emerging market, we have to persuade investors, domestic and foreign, that this is the case. We have to take the actions necessary to become a competitive market.
