Marie Blanche Ting, Doctoral researcher, University of Sussex The development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could help transform the South African economy, spur re-industrialisation, reduce the country’s over-reliance on coal-fired power stations, and contribute to increased regional trade. South Africa has in recent years run into electricity shortages, forcing the country’s utility to burn expensive […]
The SARB, its mandate and our national conversation
Government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is moving steadily higher, and with bailouts for state-owned enterprises, there are real risks we will soon have one of the highest debt levels amongst our emerging market peers. Because we have borrowed so much from abroad, we pay a rapidly rising amount of interest to non-South African creditors, and this is […]
Mboweni proposes an additional R59bn for Eskom
23 July 2019 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni proposed additional funding of R59 billion over the next two financial years when he introduced the Special Appropriations Bill during a sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday. “Although government has committed R23 billion to be allocated to Eskom over the next three years, Eskom’s funding plan […]
Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 6.5% pa
STATEMENT OF THE MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE by Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Since the May meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), near-term indicators point to weaker-than-anticipated global economic activity. Global financial conditions have eased, as central banks in advanced economies signalled a move towards monetary accommodation. However, downside risks remain […]
Why South Africa should revert to greater protection for some of its industries
David Richard Walwyn, Professor of Technology Management, University of Pretoria After years of relative silence, debates about the pros and cons of tariffs in international trade have become a regular feature. The renewed interest has been sparked by the actions of US President Donald Trump, the first president since the Great Depression to impose, or […]
Why the African Monetary Fund is a good idea and what can be done to get it going
Danny Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of Pretoria and William N Kring, Assistant Director, Global Development Policy Center, Boston University African Union (AU) leaders will gather in Niger on 7 July for an Extraordinary Summit to discuss the African Continental Free Trade Area. They will be meeting at […]
SI 142 ZIM – Where did that come from?
Inflation should be halted in its tracks in the next few months. That is the real news! Eddie Cross, Zimbabwe 29 June 2019 SI 142 – Monday the 24th June 2019 will go down as one of those days you remember. I have just read the Independent for this week, it was all about the […]
Municipal audit outcomes worsening
Local government accountability for financial and performance management deteriorates with irregular expenditure for 2017/18 at R25 billion. SAnews.gov.za – 26 June 2019 A large majority of the country’s municipalities continue to disregard Auditor-General Kimi Makwethu’s recommendations, resulting in worsening financial positions, he has announced. Makwethu made the revelation while releasing the 2017/18 Consolidated General […]
People have skewed views on inflation. Why this matters
Future inflation expectations determine current policy decisions. But these expectations are anchored in the credibility of past inflation figures. This aspect is often overlooked in monetary policy decisions. Jannie Rossouw, Head of School of Economic & Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Countries that use an inflation target to anchor monetary policy pay considerable attention […]
With cryptocurrency launch, Facebook claims economic empowerment to billions
Facebook is launching a new cryptocurrency called Libra with the help of 27 partners, including MasterCard, Visa, ebay and Uber. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Libra will be 100% backed by assets. Every unit of Libra currency will be backed by an equivalent basket of bank deposits and short-term government securities in various major currencies. Jay L. […]