South Africa’s basic policy priorities now lie with urgently implementing overdue economic reforms and ensuring security of electricity supply to boost investor confidence, says NWU Business School economist, Prof Raymond Parsons.

The South African economy is in dire need of resuscitation. A development economist from the North-West University (NWU) says that not since World War II have the local and global economies been affected in such a devastating way as by the impact of Covid-19.

Informal sector can play bigger role in job creation

The TRADE research focus area at the North-West University (NWU) hosted a successful online master-class event on 4 September.

Most of the assessed group of metropolitan municipalities in South Africa are not financially healthy, with only three of eight of these metros being profitable, even though there has been a general improvement in their revenue and expenditure ratios.

What should South Africa be doing to tackle its long-standing socio-economic problems and build a more resilient future? This was the theme of a virtual think tank via Zoom that was convened by the North-West University (NWU) Business School on 20 August.

While there is no way to tell exactly what the economic damage from the global Covid-19 pandemic will be, there is widespread agreement among economists that it will have severe negative impacts on the global economy.

The widely expected and welcome decision announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa to move South Africa’s lockdown down to Level 2 is good news for the country, says NWU Business School economist Prof Raymond Parsons.

The further 25 basis-point cut in interest rates is positive, but 50 basis points would have been better. This is the view of Prof Raymond Parsons, well-known economist and academic from the NWU Business School.

The Business School of the North-West University (NWU) has embarked on a brand-new online initiative in which current affairs in the South African sphere will be discussed via Zoom by a panel of experts during Covid-19, returning to round-table discussions when allowed. Journalists from various media will be invited to join the online panel discussion in which real-time opinions from experts in various fields can be accessed.

“Heavenly vengeance pursues a crime slowly, but nevertheless catches up with it in the end. In matters of debt the penalty is not halting; it pursues the culprit at a gallop.” (Anon)