News

[Opinion] SA needs more jobs - not social grant beneficiaries

Rather than creating wealth, South Africa has been stuck for the past decade in redistributing existing wealth.

[Opinion] New Expropriation Bill a sign that the ANC’s days are numbered

With the government budget deficit expected to pass 40% this year, the African National Congress’s (ANC) options to source the coal needed to fuel its gravy train are dwindling. There should be little doubt that the new expropriation law is intended to make up for this insufficiency.

[Video] Are fears of a “second wave” of the Covid-19 pandemic justified?

While known cases have risen in Europe and North America, there has not been a corresponding increase in deaths. Why not? The CRA team and guest speaker, Ian McGorian, big data analyst and member of Pandemics Data & Analysis (PANDA), discuss the validity of the “second wave” thesis.

[Video] South Africa has run out of money

South Africa has run out of money and the only way to resolve this problem is to cut back on state spending, which is politically very difficult to do.

[Video] Locked out: the risk of unemployment

Over 2 million jobs have been lost due to the economic Lockdown imposed by the ANC government. South Africa's structural unemployment problem is steadily worsening.

[Opinion] Privatisation necessary to save SAA

Operations and jobs will remain at risk if state-owned South African Airways (SAA) is not privatised.

[Opinion] Life expectancy in SA likely to fall as living standards deteriorate

There is a risk that South Africa’s life expectancy which is the average period that a person may expect to live, may fall from the current levels which are comparable to those of emerging markets.

[Opinion] South Africa’s departing elites: a critical warning sign

The past decade has seen a rapid decline in the number of dollar millionaires living in South Africa.

[Video] The Risk of NHI

The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill will have far-reaching consequences for healthcare funding in South Africa. In this CRA webinar, Mike Settas − Managing Director of Cinagi, a private health insurance provider − discusses the risks associated with the NHI proposal and prospects for its implementation.

[Video] Can the ANC solve its corruption dilemma?

President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to tackle corruption in the African National Congress (ANC). But does he have the political will and the strength to do so? The President faces a deep dilemma: he must be seen to act, but attempting to defeat corruption could risk tearing the ANC apart. Frans Cronje and Bheki Mahlobo discuss the ANC's corruption dilemma and various scenarios for the party.

[Opinion] NHI could trigger skills exit

The proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) is likely to see a skills exodus from the health sector.

[Opinion] Business closures herald a looming disaster

Company liquidations and employee retrenchments are a stark reminder of the extensive and continuing impact on economic activity of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown.

[Opinion] The Invisibles: South Africa’s growing underclass

Poor people with little education and no work, and who generally live under difficult conditions, find themselves relying on state support, while being unable to occupy centre stage in public discourse. They are the underclass — often neglected and ‘invisible’ — yet increasingly, they are becoming a potential source of unrest.

[Opinion] SA’s middle class taking strain

Key indicators reveal the impact of South Africa’s economic crisis on the middle class.

[Opinion] Protecting Property Rights Key to Economic Recovery

South Africa’s intention to expropriate private property without compensation will have damaging effects on the already ailing economy.

[Opinion] Save Stats SA

The slow crippling of Stats SA through budget cuts and understaffing constitutes more than a threat to one institution. It stands to pull the rug out from under SA’s ability to formulate effective policy

[Opinion] Falling consumption spells disaster for economy

Consumers in South Africa are under enormous pressure and anyone who is concerned about the economy should pay close attention to consumer behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic.

[Audio] Stats SA weakened and incapacitated due to lack of funding

Gerbrandt Van Heerden, research analyst at the Centre For Risk Analysis (CRA), spoke to Power FM's Thabiso Kotane about how cuts in government funding are threatening Stats SA’s ability to fulfil its core mandate − to produce key statistics that are vital to understanding the nature of South African society.

[Video] Webinar | PANDA | Centre For Risk Analysis - Thursday 23 July 2020

In this CRA webinar, Nick Hudson, co-founder of Pandemics ~ Data and Analytics (PANDA) assesses the human and economic cost of an extended lockdown. PANDA is a multidisciplinary group seeking to inform an appropriate policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

[Opinion] Stats SA's poverty survey is Covid-19's latest victim - and we can't afford to lose it

Much has been said these past few months about 'essential' services. Some activities have to happen for the basics of life to proceed. This idea has been central to the conversation around the immediate goal of restricting the spread of the Covid-19 virus; but it is a useful guide to so much more.

[Opinion] Will fiscal pressure breed reform?

In his supplementary budget on 24 June, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni painted a dire picture of South Africa’s public finances in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and the government-imposed lockdown.