Over-optimistic finance minister must step aside – expert

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and National Treasury had been overoptimistic about the economy for a long time but their forecast for the economy had been off the mark all along for years, says economist Duma Gqubule.

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

He said the economy stagnated because there was no spending power and Treasury has not used the budget to create jobs.

Gqubule called on Godongwana to step aside to allow for someone else to be appointed to do the job, grow the economy and intervene to ensure jobs are created.

Gqubule, who is founder of the Centre for Economic Development and Transformation, said the country experienced two decades of economic decline with average GDP growth of 1.2% between 2009 and 2025, with lower GDP per capita, while the unemployment rate remained the second highest in the world.

There was nothing truly transformative in Godongwana’s speech and it had “lots of details about nothing”.