Bad economic policies are pushing us over the social cliff – it is not too late to pull us back

This statement from the Institute for Economic Justice argues that South Africa is failing to reach its economic potential due to misguided macroeconomic policies and austerity measures. The author contends that these policies deepen apartheid-era structural inequalities, stifle youth employment, and prioritize the financial sector over the real economy, pushing the country toward a 'social cliff' despite the availability of manageable fiscal alternatives.

• South Africa is characterized by extreme economic inequality, with the Gini coefficient for wealth increasing from approximately 80% in 2000 to 89% by 2022. This has resulted in a significant collapse of wealth share for the bottom 90% of the population, which dropped from 30% in 2000 to 19% in 2022, while the top 10% now hold 81% of the wealth.
• Current economic policies are marginalizing the youth, contributing to a youth unemployment rate exceeding 70%, and maintaining a colonial economic pattern of exporting raw materials while importing finished products.
• The National Treasury is accused of blocking the extension and improvement of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant on ideological grounds. This grant, which costs less than 2% of the national budget, has benefited 31 million South Africans, representing the poorest half of the population.
• The author rejects the claim that South Africa is facing an immediate 'fiscal cliff' or debt crisis, asserting instead that the country is heading toward a 'social cliff' due to austerity-driven budget cuts. These cuts are described as anti-growth and responsible for the hollowing out of the state and degradation of infrastructure, health facilities, and education.

APA

Coleman, N. (2023). Bad economic policies are pushing us over the social cliff – it is not too late to pull us back. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/bad-economic-policies-are-pushing-us-over-the-social-cliff-it-is-not-too-late-to-pull-us-back/

Chicago

Coleman, Neil. Bad economic policies are pushing us over the social cliff – it is not too late to pull us back. Institute for Economic Justice, 2023. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/bad-economic-policies-are-pushing-us-over-the-social-cliff-it-is-not-too-late-to-pull-us-back/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Coleman |first1=Neil |title=Bad economic policies are pushing us over the social cliff – it is not too late to pull us back |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=17 October 2023 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/bad-economic-policies-are-pushing-us-over-the-social-cliff-it-is-not-too-late-to-pull-us-back/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{coleman2023bad, author = {Coleman, Neil}, title = {{Bad economic policies are pushing us over the social cliff – it is not too late to pull us back}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/bad-economic-policies-are-pushing-us-over-the-social-cliff-it-is-not-too-late-to-pull-us-back/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }