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SA must rely on its strengths to weather the storm

by Zahid Jadwat

Dale McKinley tells Salaamedia the GNU must focus on SA’s strengths. Picture: ILRIG.

 

Technology is leaping ahead. South Africa’s government of national unity (GNU) must leverage the country’s strengths to adapt and get going, or lose out. This is the message from Dale McKinley, political economist, ahead of a Cabinet lekgotla.

The technological advancements of the 21st century have flung the world into uncertainty. Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, for example, present countries with new challenges as much as they offer breathtaking opportunities.

Be creative and do something different, McKinley advised the government in a recent interview with Salaamedia.

“Technology is moving. Things are changing. Big, heavy industry is falling behind,” he warned.

When government ministers gather in Pretoria this afternoon, he said, they will likely fuss about National Health Insurance (NHI) and the Expropriation Act.

Both have created friction within the seven-month-old coalition government, but he believes economic growth is where the focus should be.

“We have a GNU which is ideologically divided. The NHI is a terrain on which to fight these ideological battles. The practical side of it relates to every national healthcare insurance, regardless of whether it’s South Africa, the UK or anywhere,” he said.

McKinley said the government should look at South Africa’s strengths in relation to technology. Having done so, it will have a better idea of how to use them to grow the economy.

“If they don’t, we’re going to be going around in circles again,” he cautioned.

“Small-scale and medium-scale enterprises are the heart of the local economy in South Africa, whether that is in urban or rural areas.” And that makes a good starting point, he advised.

 

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