Roodt paints a picture of a bleak “real” South Africa
The Ekurhuleni Captains of Industry Forum recently honoured Dawie Roodt for being named the top economist by a leading business publication.
Roodt is a regular speaker at the forum, who has this year shared his thoughts on SA’s economic landscape, including the dangers of a possible downgrade to junk status.
During a function held in Boksburg on Wednesday, July 13, during which the Ekurhuleni Captains of Industry Forum handed Roodt a certificate of appreciation, the economist again underlined his deep concerns for the ailing economy.
He stressed South Africa is by all accounts already in a recession, and that the country can only secure a bright future when it fixes the rot of corruption, incompetence and mediocrity.
Roodt highlighted that one needs to remember we live in very strange and dangerous times, with some of the world economies showing even the weirdness of a negative interest rate.
It is also the time of Brexit and the pending elections in the US.
Roodt also said that only a few South Africans are truly enjoying prosperous times, while most of the nation remains very poor.
“This is the real South Africa – people struggling to find work because there is no employment,” said Roodt.
“The real South Africa has actually got very little to do with the exchange rate. Potholes, lack of running water and the lack of housing and so on has got nothing to with economical figures. It simply has to do with poor governance. The real South Africa is reflected in our parastatals, like SA Airways, which is being run into bankruptcy because of incompetence. It has got very little to do with economic predictions.
“What is happening at the parastatals is simply a sign of an economy dying.
“A year ago me and my family suffered a traumatic robbery. Still to date no one has been arrested. That is the real South Africa.
“We sit with a country where only about 15 million people work, yet 17 million need to receive grants. We cannot sustain such an expense.
“And then we also sit with about two to three million people employed in the public sector, earning ridiculous high government salaries. Again, this is not sustainable.
“You know, 20 years ago the average income in this country was about three times the average of the sub-Sahara. Today, it is less than twice the average of the sub-Sahara. So yes, our economy is not doing well.”
Regarding unemployment in the country, he said the only way to address such an issue is not with job creation but rather to grow the economy.
“It is easy to create jobs, but then you create jobs for the sake of doing so. This does not help the economy. You can get 100 people to dig up the road and then hire 100 more to fix the road. That is our idea of job creation.
“Instead, grow the economy so that businesses will expand, prosper and grow. Then jobs will be created out of necessity because of the growth. That is real jobs.”
He stressed South Africans need to stand and work together otherwise the country will go under.
“Ultimately, what needs to also happen in this country is to restore trust. We need to restore trust in the government, in our environment and the future.
“If we create a trust environment, you will generate investment. Trust builds momentum, and with such a positive attitude we can build a better future.”
He said it is time that people really got involved with people, meaning all private and public sectors must get back to the roots of building a cohesive society.
