Record of Updates from Members
Record of Updates from Members
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We must build on the momentum of our economic recovery
26 January 2026
Dear Fellow South African,
As we enter a new year, the momentum of our economic recovery is gathering pace. In the last months of 2025, we saw a number of indicators that our collective efforts to rebuild our economy are bearing fruit.
The economy has posted four consecutive quarters of growth. There has been a steady reduction in unemployment, while recent data released by Statistics South Africa shows that levels of poverty and inequality have declined considerably. Confidence in our economy is rising, the stock exchange has been performing well and the average inflation rate is the lowest in two decades.
Late last year, South Africa exited the Financial Action Task Force grey list, which is an important signal of institutional improvement and a boost to investor confidence. We have also seen a sovereign credit ratings upgrade, reflecting strengthened fiscal credibility.
While these signs of progress are encouraging, there is no time to rest. The difference between a temporary lift in growth and sustained shift in our economic trajectory lies in expanding investment. With a strengthening currency and rising commodity prices, we have wind in our sails. Now we must steer our ship towards greater prosperity for all South Africans.
Last week, at its first meeting of the year, the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) made clear proposals on how to achieve this goal. A body of respected local and international economists, academics and practitioners, the council provides strategic and evidence-based advice on policy decisions that promote economic stability, growth and inclusivity.
The council said that Government should translate recent positive developments into enduring growth by simultaneously boosting public infrastructure spending and lowering the cost of doing business.
Increasing infrastructure investment is not simply about spending more. It is about delivering projects that reduce the cost of doing business, unlock growth and create jobs.
Council members expressed strong support for the ongoing programme of structural transformation in key sectors such as electricity, logistics and water. These interventions, which have brought an end to load-shedding and improved rail and port performance, aim to enable competition, improve the efficiency of network industries and reduce costs across the economy.
Our electricity reforms are critical to this effort. A competitive electricity market is essential to bringing down the cost of electricity. And lower electricity prices are critical for both inclusive growth and social development. Similarly, improving logistics performance in rail, ports and freight corridors remains essential to exports, industrialisation and job creation.
In addition to boosting private investment, we need to achieve higher levels of public investment in infrastructure. Over the last few years, we have laid a solid foundation for investment by streamlining the regulations that have held back infrastructure projects, making it easier to pursue public-private partnerships, and establishing strong institutions such as Infrastructure South Africa and the Infrastructure Fund. We have committed more than R1 trillion of public funds for infrastructure projects over the next three years.
We need to build on this foundation by strengthening our state-owned enterprises and enabling them to invest at much higher levels.
We must do all of this at a time when the international environment is increasingly volatile and uncertain. Global growth is expected to remain subdued over the medium term and many countries are facing heightened trade and geopolitical tensions.
This underscores the need for South Africa to sharpen its competitiveness and expand markets, particularly on the African continent. We must capitalise on the positive momentum of recent months by building strong partnerships, strengthening delivery, and closing the gap between policy intent and implementation. Only if our own institutions are strong can we compete and remain responsive in a rapidly changing world.
During the course of this year, we need to double down on our efforts to grow investment and create jobs. We must seize the momentum we built and translate this into long-term gains for our economy.
In the coming days, Cabinet will hold its annual Lekgotla to outline the actions that will be taken across Government and with social partners to achieve these goals. Through these actions, by working together, we will ensure that the progress we’ve seen in the last year will have an impact on the lives of South Africans this year.
With best regards,
Cyril Ramaphosa
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA CHAIRS MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL
President Cyril Ramaphosa today, 17 January 2024, chaired a meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) to discuss current economic developments and measures to support economic growth and job creation.
Members of PEAC commended the progress made in advancing economic reform, including in the energy, transport, and telecommunications sectors, as well as in rebuilding state institutions that were weakened by state capture.
The recently released results of Census 2022 show that the quality of life has improved for millions of South Africans since the previous census, including through expanded access to education, water, electricity, housing, and other basic services.
Despite the progress made in putting in place fiscally, socially and environmentally sound economic policies, PEAC noted that significant challenges remain.
In its assessment of the current economic environment, PEAC highlighted fiscal risks, the poor performance of state-owned enterprises, ongoing load shedding, historical underinvestment in infrastructure, and rising levels of crime as the most urgent obstacles to growth.
PEAC welcomed the actions currently underway to address these challenges, and discussed proposals to strengthen state capacity, professionalise the public service, and improve the governance of state-owned enterprises.
Further proposals included a proactive green industrial strategy to harness South Africa’s significant renewable energy resources, support for small businesses and the informal sector, and measures to accelerate implementation of the Energy Action Plan and end load shedding.
Finally, PEAC discussed South Africa’s role in advocating for the reform of the international financial architecture. PEAC further supported the call for appropriate financing mechanisms to support the climate transition in developing countries.
The analysis and recommendations provided by PEAC continue to play a key role in informing government policymaking.
Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President- media@presidency.gov.za
ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Statement Issued by: The Presidency, Pretoria
FRAMING A STUDY OF AFRICAN MIGRATION GOVERNANCE
(August, 2023)
(August, 2023)
This paper introduces the Migration Governance Reform in Africa research program: MIGRA. This program is supported by the
New South Institute and will consist of a series of papers, op-eds and policy briefs, work in other media, and a collection.
President Ramaphosa assures PEAC on commitment to reforms
(July, 2023)
(July, 2023)
President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired a meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) on Thursday 20 July 2023.
PEAC members commended President Ramaphosa and other African leaders for the steps that have been taken to advocate and work for an end to the destabilising Ukraine-Russia war, maintaining that a return to peace would be in the economic interests of Africa and other parts of the world.
PEAC members further supported President Ramaphosa’s efforts in sending envoys to the United States and other G7 economies to clarify South Africa’s role in working for peace. The meeting recognised that as South Africa seeks to deepen economic ties with BRICS countries, the country must at the same time continue to strengthen bonds with historical trade and investment partners.
The PEAC members welcomed the progress that has been made in implementing the reforms and encouraged the President to continue driving the reform agenda across the electricity, water, rail, ports, telecoms and skills sectors to revive economic growth and create the millions of jobs that are needed.
It was reiterated that these economic reforms must be undertaken at the same time as the government works towards repairing the country’s weak fiscal position.
The meeting noted government’s ongoing efforts to push back against state-capture, corruption and violence that are damaging society and the country’s economic prospects.
The meeting further highlighted the importance of a comprehensive and well balanced approach in the execution of the Energy Action Plan that will promote significant levels of new investment for the fundamental modernisation and restructuring of the country’s electricity sector.
President Ramaphosa thanked the members of PEAC for their well-considered and crafted inputs and advice to government, providing assurance that government remains on track in the implementation of reforms in a purposeful manner, despite the enormity of the task that means significant results will take time to materialise.
The PEAC members will continue to provide economic advice to the President in an ongoing manner.
The purpose of the PEAC is to provide advice to the President on economic policy matters, to allow for detailed discussion on current economic developments, and to allow for the consideration of new economic proposals.
PEAC members, who were appointed on a purely voluntary basis from October 2019 for a three-year term, which has subsequently been extended until the first half of 2024, comprise a team of 19 local and international economic experts drawn from academia, policy and business circles. The President invites members of his cabinet involved in economic policy matters to join the PEAC meetings.
A major focus of the PEAC work over the past few years has been to advise the President on reforms needed for inclusive, sustainable growth, and PEAC advice also played a significant role in shaping the South African government’s economic response to the Covid pandemic.
Statement Issued by: The Presidency, Pretoria
Facing the climate crisis in a world of inequality: Who should pay? Who will pay?
(March, 2023)
(March, 2023)
Professor Imraan Valodia, Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate Sustainability and Inequality at Wits University, invites you to a seminar by Professor Adam Tooze
WHEN: Tuesday, 14 March 2023 | TIME: 16:00 – 18:00
WHERE: Senate Chamber, Solomon Mahlangu House, Wits University
Prof. Adam Tooze holds the Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University in New York and serves as Director of the European Institute. He is a renowned scholar and author of several books, including Crashed, on the financial crisis of 2008, and Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy. In 2019, Foreign Policy Magazine named him one of the top global thinkers of the decade.
He has written and reviewed for the Financial Times, the Guardian, the Sunday Telegraph, the TLS, the London Review of Books, the New Left Review, the New Statesman, the Wall Streer Journal, the New York Times, the New York Review of books, Dissent, Die Zeit, Spiegel, TAZ and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Professor Tooze sees climate change as the next big threat to global stability and believes that “It is not the development aspirations of the global poor that are driving the climate crisis, but the relentless increase in the already excessive consumption of the more affluent half of the world's population and particularly that of the top 10 and top 1 percent.”
Please contact Julia Taylor for any queries: Julia.Taylor@wits.ac.za
Ayabonga Cawe Appointed as New ITAC Chief Commissioner
(January, 2023)
(January, 2023)
PEAC congratulates Mr Ayabonga Cawe on his appointment as the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa's (ITAC) new Chief Commissioner. Ayabonga has been appointed in this strategic role for a term of 5 years, starting from 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2027.
ITAC is a schedule 3A Public Entity established in terms of the International Trade Administration Act, No 71 of 2002, and came into force on 1 June 2003. ITAC replaced its predecessor, the Board of Tariffs and Trade (BTT) that was established in 1986. The predecessor of the BTT is the Board on Trade and Industries (BTI) that dated back to 1924.
The aim of ITAC, as stated in the Act, is to foster economic growth and development in order to raise incomes and promote investment and employment in South Africa and within the Common Customs Union Area by establishing an efficient and effective system for the administration of international trade subject to this Act and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Agreement. The core functions are: customs tariff investigations; trade remedies; and import and export control.
Professor Vusi Gumede's paper examines the relationship between government and socio-economic development in South Africa. The analysis focuses on 1996-2020. Various estimations were undertaken, through the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, to empirically examine the role of government in socio-economic development in South Africa. Because of the unit root that typically characterizes macroeconomic series, the unit root test using the Augmented Dick Fuller (ADF) test with constant, and trend was done. In addition, the ARDL bound tests were undertaken.
The results confirm that government has an important role to play in the economy. However, results show that economic growth does not necessarily translate to socio-economic development although government spending does. In addition, results also confirm that institutions and educational spending are important for social and economic development. For instance, improvements in the quality of institutions increases the human development index. In the same vein, there is a strong positive correlation between increased socio-economic development and spending on education. Results show that the quality of institutions is important for both economic growth and socio-economic development.
Overall, the findings support the view that governments should be active in facilitating social and economic development. This is more so in instances where economic performance weakens due to exogenous factors such as the coronavirus pandemic. It is worth highlighting that the baseline ARDL results show that the correlation between gross domestic product (GDP) and its prior values is statistically significant, indicating a meaningful relationship between GDP and socio-economic development.
Green Industrialisation in Africa (November, 2022)
Green Industrialisation in Africa (November, 2022)
The DSI/NRF South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Industrial Development and the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development at the University of Johannesburg are delighted to host three leading experts, Prof Carlos Lopes, Dr Tilman Altenburg and Dr Basani Baloyi for a public lecture on the topic:
Green Industrialisation in Africa
SPEAKERS: Prof Carlos Lopes is Professor at Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, UCT. Dr Tilman Altenburg is Head of Department of ‘Sustainable Economic and Social Development’ at the German Development Institute. Dr Basani Baloyi is Climate, Energy and Infrastructure Programme Lead at the Institute for Economic Justice.
MODERATORS: Dr Phumzile Ncube and Prof Fiona Tregenna
DATE AND TIME: 14 November 2022, 16:00 (South African Time)
VENUE: Radisson Blu Sandton, Corner Daisy Street and Rivonia Road
COP27 Panel Discussion (November, 2022)
COP27 Panel Discussion (November, 2022)
Panel discussion moderated by Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London and founding director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Keynote remarks from Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister, Barbados
Responses from:
• Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scotland
• Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Government of Egypt
• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General,WTO
For further information on the speakers, please vist the following link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/events/2022/nov/cop27-directing-finance-meet-climate-and-health-goals
District Development Model Webinar (November, 2022)
District Development Model Webinar (November, 2022)
Ayaybonga Cawe will be a speaker a webinar hosted by the Pathways Institute, Equality Collective and the Zabalaza Socialist Forum on Tuesday, 8 November.
The webinar seeks to unpack the question: Will the District Development Model (DDM) address the municipal crisis?
Date: 8 November
Time: 16:00 - 17:30
Teams Registration Link:
South Africa: State and Development (November, 2022)
South Africa: State and Development (November, 2022)
Professor Vusi Gumede's new book deals with the institutional architecture and development outcomes in South Africa. It examines the various reforms pursued since 1994 and analyses organisation and capacity of the government as well as assesses socio-economic development, guided by the developmental state framework in a comparative context.
Please follow link to purchase:
https://jopa.wemasoft.co.za/public/portal/articles/book/id/1527#sectionabstract
Thandika Mkandawire Memorial Lecture (October, 2022)
Thandika Mkandawire Memorial Lecture (October, 2022)
Prof. Fiona Tregenna delivered the memorial lecture at the 2022 Thandika Mkandawire Memorial Lecture and Panel Discussions.
Please follow link to watch the video:
100 Years of Economics at Wits (September, 2022)
100 Years of Economics at Wits (September, 2022)
The Wits School of Economics and Finance hosted a centenary celebration webinar and panel discussion on economic policy-making in a high inequality context.
Among the panelists were Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Ms Trudi Makhaya, Dr. Kenneth Creamer and Prof Liberty Mncube with a keynote address by Prof Thomas Piketty.
Please follow link to watch the video:
Ayabonga Cawe Awarded the Prof. Thandika Mkandawire Prize (August, 2022)
Ayabonga Cawe Awarded the Prof. Thandika Mkandawire Prize (August, 2022)
Huge congratulations to Ayabonga Cawe for being awarded the Prof. Thandika Mkandawire Prize for Outstanding Young Scholars in African Political Economy and Economic Development for a WIDER Working Paper, what a great achievement! 👏
Read the paper here: https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/%E2%80%98delangokubona%E2%80%99-and-distribution-rents-and-opportunity
The prize winners' presentation will take place on Tuesday, 13 September at 18h30 (SAST)
Physical Venue: The Blades Hotel, Kameeldrift, Roodeplaat, Pretoria
Hybrid event: Zoom link Register Here
CDE Conversations with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (July, 2022)
CDE Conversations with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (July, 2022)
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala shares positive insights about the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) during a recent Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) webinar.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala was in conversation with Ann Bernstein, CDE’s executive director. The conversation focused on Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s role as a global reformer: fighting corruption and promoting world trade.
Prior to her appointment as Director General of the World Trade Organization Dr Okonjo-Iweala served as an active member of the Advisory Council. She described PEAC as a team of "bright young economists, not afraid to challenge the system and write analysis for the President even when it might not be palatable."
Follow the link for the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_CJUfRblaE
Existential Priorities for the AfCFTA (June, 2022)
Existential Priorities for the AfCFTA (June, 2022)
In June 2021, spirited practitioners and thought leaders from Africa and beyond came together to develop as book on existential priorities for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
This book aims to guide and assist implementation of the AfCFTA over the next 10 years. Each chapter considers a key area, raises issues for attention and points to possible ways forward.
Professor Alan Hirsch authored Chapter 9 on the free movement of people considers a flagship programme under Agenda 2063 that complements the AfCFTA to form a continuum for the African Common Market with free movement of goods, services, people and investment, as well as the right of residence and establishment.
Follow the link to access the book: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AKLtOKjNMrFy9ZaEucS-xI9t1KOVzVsi/view?usp=sharing
Better Choices: Ensuring South Africa's Future (May, 2022)
Better Choices: Ensuring South Africa's Future (May, 2022)
This collection by South Africa’s top thinkers on the political economy, provides an unflinching account of the myriad challenges the country faces, and examines the solutions that will lead South Africa to a positive and inclusive future. The volume is co-edited by Haroon Bhorat, with Greg Mills and Ray Hartley from the Brenthurst Foundation, and Mcebisi Jonas, former Deputy Finance Minister.
Prof. Bhorat’s chapter considers policy choices for the labour market in South Africa – possibly the key mechanism for creating jobs and serving as a catalyst for reducing both poverty and inequality. Co-authors include: Prof. Alan Hirsch looking at the role of SOEs in development; Prof. Liberty Mncube discussing competition policy and excessive market power; Mr Wandile Sihlobo examining policy reforms to stimulate growth and employment in agriculture; and Prof. Imraan Valodia offering an analysis of the limitations and opportunities of the informal economy in South Africa.
Follow the link to read more: https://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/news/better-choices-can-south-africa-avoid-the-perfect-and-potentially-violent-gathering-storm/
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