Lengthy and sometimes violent strikes, electricity supply constraints, perceived or real concerns about economic policies and a slow breakdown in trust between major social partners have deducted from growth and investment. In 2012, the Marikana strike and its consequences knocked exports as well as confidence; confidence in our ability to manage our social stresses.
From a collective viewpoint, if banks stop behaving as banks, i.e. they stop intermediating savings onto investment, there is a risk of implosion with repercussions on the real economy that economic policy would be unable to stop. Policy action must give priority to making markets function again. Many measures have already been announced, and some have been implemented.