The third report in CDE’s AGENDA 2024: Priorities for SA’s new government focuses on fixing the country’s fiscal crisis.

The costs of South Africa’s unsustainable fiscal position are high and rising, and the failure to address it causes enormous harm. The speed at which public debt levels have risen in South Africa has had very significant negative effects on SA’s growth prospects.

The government must refrain from making any new unaffordable spending commitments. This includes avoiding agreements that escalate public sector remuneration spending faster than the economy’s growth rate.

A major challenge is wasteful spending that generates very few benefits or returns. This is especially reflected in the poor performance of our schools, hospitals, police, courts, railways, roads, power stations, etc. Better management practices and dramatically improved accountability systems must be introduced to turn this around, but that will require committed leadership.

Report by the Centre for Development and Enterprise