South Africans should use next year\u2019s elections to vote out \u201cuseless\u201d politicians who have failed to prioritise jobs and drive investment and choose leaders who will get the struggling economy back on track, according to one of the country\u2019s top bankers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to have a half-decent government, and I don\u2019t think at the moment we are anywhere close,\u201d Investec Group Chief Executive Officer Fani Titi said in a speech at the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg last week. \u201cWe get the government we deserve because we either don\u2019t vote or when we vote, we vote poorly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The African National Congress has led Africa\u2019s most industrialized nation since White-minority rule ended in 1994. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government made initial strides in tackling poverty, unemployment and inequality, but its performance deteriorated markedly during President Jacob Zuma\u2019s nine-year rule, which was marred by repeated corruption scandals, policy missteps and inappropriate appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded Zuma in 2018, has struggled to turn the situation around, with output constrained by electricity shortages and logistics bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The economy has expanded less than 2% a year over the past decade, the International Monetary Fund doesn\u2019t expect its performance to improve markedly until 2028 at the earliest, and the National Treasury has warned that state debt is approaching unsustainable levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you are not a little scared about the country, there\u2019s something wrong with you because the trajectory is not good at all,\u201d Titi said. \u201cWe are governed by guys in their late 60s and some in their 70s with no idea about how the world works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a televised address on Monday night, Ramaphosa defended his administration\u2019s performance, saying it had made progress toward ending power cuts, creating jobs and improving the rail system and ports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reiterated the government\u2019s commitment to a stable macroeconomic environment, a sustainable fiscal trajectory and reducing its debt, and pledged to press ahead with reforms to kick-start growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While much more needs to be done, \u201cthere are clear signs that our efforts are showing results,\u201d the president said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am confident that through the actions we are taking now, we will overcome the challenges we face and build a society that works for all of its people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Titi conceded there was reason to be hopeful, saying there is a realization that urgent action is needed to tackle the country\u2019s challenges, with the private sector now working with the government to address energy shortages, logistics constraints, crime and corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several opinion polls show the ANC risks losing its national majority for the first time next year, an eventuality that would force it into a coalition if it wants to retain power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next administration has to focus on creating an environment that unlocks private sector investment and allows businesses to create jobs, according to Titi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upcoming election will be an opportunity to vote in younger people who have ideas on how to move the country forward, and the 2029 vote \u201cwill be critical,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t get it right, then you get to a tipping point where you can easily deteriorate into a Zimbabwe, where the courts don\u2019t work, where the economy doesn\u2019t work\u201d for those without political connections, and that can\u2019t be allowed to happen, Titi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Investec CEO warns South Africans to use next year’s elections wisely or risk becoming the next Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":700409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1850,853],"class_list":["post-728232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-opinion","tag-bloomberg","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728232"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":728236,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728232\/revisions\/728236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}