News — Centre for Risk Analysis

[News] SA will be hard to sell in Davos for Mboweni

Economists are sceptical that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Team SA delegation will succeed in inspiring investor appetite in the South African economy at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week.

[News] SARB cuts Repo rate

SARB cuts the Repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in Q1 2020, following a unanimous vote by the SARB MPC.

[News] SA economy ‘not in the doldrums, but the nasties’ - economists

We’d be lucky to see 0.9% growth, which is the World Bank’s expectation, and could already be in a depression rather than a recession, one expert said.

[Opinion] Open for business? How SMMEs in South Africa can thrive

Small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have the potential to drive economic growth and employment in South Africa. However, this potential is not being realised.

[News] Eastern Cape SA’s most unequal province

White South Africans are getting paid three times more than their black African counterparts at work.

[Video] Economists warn of investment downgrades

Some economists have warned that unless South Africa puts its economic house in order soon, it faces the possibility of an investment downgrade.

[News] Ramaphosa’s Challenge May Be Bigger Than That Faced by Mandela

When Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994, he faced the challenge of uniting a nation divided by apartheid and healing an economy shattered by sanctions and mismanagement.

[Audio] Productivity levels at all-time low in the workplace

18 Oct 2019 - David Ansara, COO of the Centre For Risk Analysis, joined Aldrin Sampear of Power FM and Dr Leroy Repatsoae, Chief Economist at Productivity SA, to discuss productivity levels in the SA workplace.

[News] Key factors driving unemployment discussed

He listed and deeply analysed the following issues: low economic growth; hostile broader economic policy framework; poor education; low skill level, and labour policy as key drivers of unemployment.

[News] South Africa’s Youth Are Deserting the Party of Nelson Mandela

Twenty-five years after the African National Congress ended apartheid, it faces being brought down by an increasingly young and urbanized electorate.

[Opinion] SA's unemployment crisis - it's a policy problem first and foremost

South Africa is in the grip of an unemployment crisis. The latest unemployment figures from Statistics South Africa show that the official unemployment rate has increased to 29% in 2Q 2019 (a QOQ rise of 1.4% from 27.6% in 1Q 2019).

[News] Ramaphosa’s Dependence on the Left Stymies South African Reforms

“The wrestling match over the ANC tiller is now essentially between a hard-left faction and aggressive racial nationalist faction all under the supervision of a captain who cannot break the deadlock or inspire a third way,” the Johannesburg-based Centre for Risk Analysis said in a report it gives to clients. Ramaphosa “believes, fatally in our view, that maintaining unity among the crew is a priority,” it said.

[Opinion] Brexit scenarios: Events, dear boy, events

CRA Analyst, Hermann Pretorius, shares his thoughts on six scenarios for Brexit under new PM, Boris Johnson. This analysis was adapted from the CRA’s Strategic Intelligence Report which details trends and potential scenarios for the domestic and international political economy. This and other reports are available exclusively to CRA subscribers.

[Opinion] If Ramaphosa wants major growth, he'll need to drive major reforms

South Africa’s low levels of growth and investment are a consequence of an inhibiting policy environment, and it is up to President Cyril Ramaphosa to drive the reforms necessary to remove obstacles to growth, argues CRA COO, David Ansara.

[News] 'We are still crying': Anger at poor public services 25 years into SA's democracy

According to the 2019 Socio-Economic Survey published by the Centre for Risk Analysis, a policy research institute, the number of regular houses in SA has increased by a quarter since 1996. The number of people with access to electricity went up by 61%, and access to flushing toilets rose 30%.

[Opinion] The dying of the light

Fixing Eskom requires a better mix of energy sources including nuclear, a lower wage bill, appointing staff on merit and more autonomy for the board.

This is the future: Why facts-obsessed Frans Cronje is suddenly filled with hope for SA - BizNews

18 February 2018 - Here’s a brilliant assessment of the state of South Africa by one of the country’s foremost analysts. Frans Cronje is the CEO of the respected Institute of Race Relations, which since its formation in 1929 has been acknowledged as the country’s leading political and economic think tank.

Hoping for less of the same: An alternative SONA from the IRR’s Frans Cronje - BizNews

7 February 2018 - If South Africa’s ever-increasing demands born of post-1994 successes are not met, the ruling ANC may soon find itself in the same trouble it was in just a few weeks ago – and for the same reasons.

Press release: "Imperative to root out arms deal corruption" - SAIRR, 5 May 2011.

“President Jacob Zuma has a constitutional obligation to take effective action against corruption. This includes the corruption which appears to have accompanied the 1999 arms deal,” says the South African Institute of Race Relations (the Institute), which has been admitted as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a case before the Constitutional Court today.