South Africa’s economy could be three times its current size with better policies and management, former statistician-general Pali Lehohla said on Tuesday, blaming corruption for constraining growth and worsening unemployment and poverty.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) Thought Leadership Seminar in Centurion, Lehohla said the country’s 7 trillion rand ($426 billion) economy should be worth 21 trillion rand ($1.3 trillion), given its resources and economic potential.

“This R7tn economy should be a R21tn economy. Our economic policies have been stupid. That is what has brought us here. There is so much wealth in this country, yet we have constrained it,” he stated.

His concerns come on the heels of the National Treasury’s announcement of a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank, intended to support reforms aimed at alleviating infrastructure bottlenecks, enhancing economic growth, and creating jobs. This reliance on foreign loans stands in stark contrast to the early days after the end of apartheid when the country lifted itself using its own resources.

“Can you imagine? Even the most greedy in an R21tn economy, they could take R3tn or R4tn, it would still be okay as there would still be R17tn for everyone. Now they steal from the R7tn itself and leave the poor,” he added.

He called on the South African government to re-imagine its economic policies, which continue to cripple South Africa’s developmental potential, stating: “They can’t see the bigger picture. They can’t see abundance because they are looking at stealing... Now you are borrowing from the IMF as if it is going out of fashion”.

Earlier on, during his formal presentation, Dr Lehohla called on the IEC to take an active role in ensuring that true democracy in the form of economic freedom for the youth of South Africa takes shape.

“Democracy must say if we are giving you R350, how are you going to get your freedom? All this money labeled ‘distress’ has nothing to do with development or democracy. A wise government would invest in agricultural initiatives. That is IEC’s mandate. Otherwise, they would come and burn this building,” he stated.

With the IEC gearing up for the voter registration weekend on August 1 and 2, Judge Dhaya Pillay closed the seminar, reflecting on how heightened inequality may be pushing citizens toward a tipping point, where if the benefits of participation don’t outweigh the costs, citizens turn inward to safeguard themselves instead.

First published by IOL