No going back to normal: Imagining a Just Recovery in South Africa

The report contends that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep structural faults in South Africa's economy, including extreme inequality and a dependence on fossil fuels. It advocates for a 'Just Recovery' based on five principles: prioritizing health, providing direct economic relief, supporting workers over corporations, creating resilience for future crises, and building international solidarity. The authors propose a transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050, the implementation of a 'purple economy' to value care work, and a shift toward democratic public ownership to replace market-centric neoliberal policies.

• The South African economy is structurally dependent on fossil fuels, with Eskom alone accounting for approximately 42% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions.
• Income inequality in South Africa is extreme, with the top 10% of earners capturing 60% of the total national income as of 2019 data.
• The report argues that the South African government's COVID-19 rescue package was insufficient and largely relied on reallocating existing funds from social infrastructure like water, transport, and housing.
• A proposed 'purple economy' would reorganize the economy around the sustainability of caring labour, aiming to internalize the costs of care and increase employment for women.
• The report calls for a transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050, noting that current targets in the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (25% by 2030) are not ambitious enough.
• To fund a Just Recovery, the report suggests a wealth tax on the wealthiest 354,000 individuals, which could potentially raise at least R143 billion.
• The report identifies significant revenue loss due to illicit financial flows, estimating that South Africa loses $10 billion in taxes annually.
• The authors advocate for 'democratic public ownership' and 'buy-outs not bailouts,' suggesting the state take equity stakes in companies receiving direct cash injections during the pandemic.
• The report highlights the failure of the transport system, noting that in Cape Town, transport costs are estimated to consume 45% of household expenditure for working-class people.

APA

Osborne, C., Phalatse, S., Isaacs, G., Fleishman, B., Ilgaz, M., Lenferna, A., Magliulo, C., Mokgopo, A., & Tyler-Davies, G. (2020). No going back to normal: Imagining a Just Recovery in South Africa. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Just-Recovery-Report-full-report.pdf

Chicago

Osborne, Carilee, Sonia Phalatse, Gilad Isaacs, Brett Fleishman, Mahir Ilgaz, Alex Lenferna, Claudio Magliulo, Ahmed Mokgopo, and Glen Tyler-Davies. No going back to normal: Imagining a Just Recovery in South Africa. Institute for Economic Justice, 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Just-Recovery-Report-full-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Osborne |first1=Carilee |last2=Phalatse |first2=Sonia |last3=Isaacs |first3=Gilad |last4=Fleishman |first4=Brett |last5=Ilgaz |first5=Mahir |last6=Lenferna |first6=Alex |last7=Magliulo |first7=Claudio |last8=Mokgopo |first8=Ahmed |last9=Tyler-Davies |first9=Glen |title=No going back to normal: Imagining a Just Recovery in South Africa |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=July 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Just-Recovery-Report-full-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{osborne2020going, author = {Osborne, Carilee and Phalatse, Sonia and Isaacs, Gilad and Fleishman, Brett and Ilgaz, Mahir and Lenferna, Alex and Magliulo, Claudio and Mokgopo, Ahmed and Tyler-Davies, Glen}, title = {{No going back to normal: Imagining a Just Recovery in South Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Just-Recovery-Report-full-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }