SOUTH AFRICA

The document argues that South Africa, the most unequal country in the world, is implementing unwarranted fiscal austerity that undermines the rights to health and education. It highlights that while the government justifies cuts through debt concerns, South African debt is moderate by international standards. The report identifies systemic failures including 'state capture', corruption costing R27 billion annually, and a regressive tax mix. It recommends progressive tax reform, such as wealth and corporate tax increases, and a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy to expand the resources available for social services.

• South Africa is characterized by extreme income and wealth inequality, with the wealthiest 1% of the population owning half of all assets and the top decile holding 90–95% of the country’s wealth.
• Poverty rates have risen, with 55.5% of the population living below the official national upper bound poverty line of R992 per person per month in 2015, compared to 53.2% in 2011.
• The government has implemented austerity measures, including increasing the VAT rate from 14% to 15% in April 2018 and raising fuel levies, which the document describes as retrogressive and discriminatory.
• Fiscal austerity is justified by the government through debt concerns, yet South African debt, projected at 55% of GDP for the fiscal year, is considered moderate compared to an IMF average of 57.6% for emerging market and middle-income countries in 2023.
• Public health is debilitated by real-term spending cuts and personnel shortages, with national and provincial health care spending cut by -0.1% in real terms in 2018/19.
• Education spending per learner has declined by 10% since 2010, and the National Treasury reduced funding for school infrastructure by R7.2 billion over three years in the 2018 National Budget.
• Corruption and 'state capture' significantly deplete available resources, with corruption estimated to cost South Africa at least R27 billion per year.
• The document proposes several alternatives to austerity to expand fiscal space, including a 1% annual net wealth tax to raise R65 billion and increasing the corporate income tax rate to 32% to raise R33 billion.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2018). SOUTH AFRICA. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2019-IEJ-S27-CESR-Factsheet-UN-review-min.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. SOUTH AFRICA. 2018. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2019-IEJ-S27-CESR-Factsheet-UN-review-min.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=SOUTH AFRICA |date=2018 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2019-IEJ-S27-CESR-Factsheet-UN-review-min.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2018south, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{SOUTH AFRICA}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2018}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2019-IEJ-S27-CESR-Factsheet-UN-review-min.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }