Chapter Fifteen - Post-Apartheid South Africa's Economic Policy: Lessons from a Successful Experience

Summary

“Because development brings great structural change that affects different interests in different ways, the achievement of our goals requires of us the capacity to mobilize a highly complex society in pursuit of broad national objectives. It means building a broad partnership of major social forces.”

Nelson Mandela, address to the World Economic Forum, Davos, January 29, 1999

“[…] I thought it right to mention this experience as it puts a proper context to the debates we must conduct on our use of public money. As we address the necessary questions of deficits, interest and exchange rates, inflation, labour market flexibility, the affordability of social welfare systems and many others, we dare not forget that the purpose of it all, and the mandate which brings us to this house, is the continued and sustained improvement in the lives of each and every South African […]”

Nelson Mandela, opening of the President's Budget Debate, Cape Town, March 2, 1999

“This year opened with the inspiring news that our people were highly optimistic about their future and the future of our country, ranking eighth in the world on the optimism index. Gallup International, which issued this report, said we have three times more optimists than pessimists, and that the optimism figure had doubled even since 2002. […] The results obtained by Gallup International have been confirmed by a recent domestic poll conducted by Markinor. According to this poll, 65% of our people believe that the country is going in the right direction. 84% think that our country holds out a happy future for all racial groups. 71% believe that government is performing well.