{"id":46324,"date":"2025-12-31T05:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T05:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=46324"},"modified":"2025-12-31T05:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T05:03:24","slug":"nelson-mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/12\/31\/nelson-mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave\/","title":{"rendered":"Nelson Mandela is turning in his grave \u2013 Newsday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Nelson Mandela and his successor, Thabo Mbeki, reduced South Africa\u2019s inherited debt and avoided a World Bank or IMF bailout. However, this work has been squandered.<\/p>\n<p>When Mandela became South Africa\u2019s first democratic president, he was concerned about the country\u2019s massive debt.<\/p>\n<p>When the ANC took over from the Apartheid regime after South Africa\u2019s first democratic elections in 1994, the economy was in shambles.<\/p>\n<p>Debt service costs as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) were crippling, and economic growth rates were declining.<\/p>\n<p>The economy\u2019s annual average growth rate was 1.0% between 1985 and 1990, falling to 0.2% between 1990 and 1994.<\/p>\n<p>Simply put, South Africa was in dire financial straits, and the country required drastic measures to resolve the situation. A bailout would have been the easy route.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mandela was vehemently opposed to a bailout from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, as these bailouts came with stringent conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Mandela described how the president of the IMF visited South Africa and stated that the reason the rand was unstable was that South Africa\u2019s foreign reserves were very low.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am prepared to help you, to give you funds,\u201d the former IMF president told Mandela during his South African visit.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mandela refused. \u201cThe difficulty with you is that you impose conditions which violate the sovereignty of a country,\u201d Mandela told him.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Mandela and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki developed and implemented a policy framework to reduce government debt and stimulate economic growth.<\/p>\n<p>Mandela\u2019s strategy focused on fiscal discipline and budget redirection to avoid a \u201cdebt trap\u201d that would trigger a World Bank or IMF bailout with restrictive conditions.<\/p>\n<p>They gradually reduced the fiscal deficit, avoided a debt trap, and limited any real increase in recurrent government expenditure.<\/p>\n<p>The Mandela presidency was able to stabilise the country\u2019s finances and achieve an average economic growth rate of 2.7%.<\/p>\n<p>Under Mbeki, with Trevor Manuel as Finance Minister, the country achieved even stronger economic growth and significantly reduced its debt-to-GDP ratio.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008\/09, South Africa\u2019s gross loan debt totalled R627 billion, equivalent to 26% of the country\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP).<\/p>\n<p>Between 1994 and 2007, S&amp;P Global and other ratings agencies upgraded South Africa\u2019s credit rating numerous times. The country was doing very well economically.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki\u2019s financial legacy destroyed<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Nelson-Mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave-%E2%80%93-Newsday.png?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Nelson-Mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave-\u2013-Newsday.png 1200w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Thabo-Mbeki-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Thabo-Mbeki-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Thabo-Mbeki-600x338.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Former South African President Thabo Mbeki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Under the Jacob Zuma administration, South Africa\u2019s economic growth stalled, and the country began to run significant deficits.<\/p>\n<p>Under Zuma and his finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, South Africa\u2019s debt-to-GDP ratio increased tremendously, undoing the good work of Trevor Manuel.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next fifteen years, under Zuma and Ramaphosa, the government\u2019s gross loan debt ballooned to R5.21 trillion, or 73.9% of GDP.<\/p>\n<p>Renowned economist Dawie Roodt stated that the negative trajectory began with Gordhan, when South Africa\u2019s debt-to-GDP ratio doubled from 26% to 50%.<\/p>\n<p>He gave large salary increases to civil servants, and state-owned enterprises that were mismanaged and corrupt received billions in bailouts.<\/p>\n<p>The poor policies implemented under Zuma, with Gordhan as finance minister, continued after they left their positions.<\/p>\n<p>Exorbitant government spending and a stagnant economy resulted in the state\u2019s debt burden surging from 26% of GDP in 2008 to over 77% in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa spends over R1 billion per day servicing this growing debt burden, taking money away from education, healthcare, and policing.<\/p>\n<p>However, this is not the only debt South Africa has. The government also has R707.8 billion in contingent liabilities, which include SOE guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa\u2019s deteriorating financial position also saw it break its long-standing tradition of avoiding IMF debt.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2020, it received a US$4.3 billion emergency loan from the IMF, and in 2022, it received a $750 million development policy loan from the World Bank.<\/p>\n<p>The country also received large loans from the World Bank for energy transition, power sector reforms, infrastructure, and local government.<\/p>\n<p>Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki\u2019s reforms, aimed to create a sustainable financial situation for South Africa and avoid bailouts, are now long forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>The government treated state finances and state-owned enterprises as their personal enrichment tools, and South Africans are now paying the price.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">South African finances<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"319\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Nelson-Mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave-%E2%80%93-Newsday.jpg?resize=640%2C319&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13986\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Nelson-Mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave-\u2013-Newsday.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1-768x383.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1-600x299.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767157402_982_Nelson-Mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave-%E2%80%93-Newsday.jpg?resize=640%2C333&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767157402_982_Nelson-Mandela-is-turning-in-his-grave-\u2013-Newsday.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2-600x312.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"text-center border p-3 bg-light mt-4 rounded\">You have read 1 out of 5 free articles. Log in or register for unlimited access.<\/div>\n<p>                        <!-- Share Data Setup for JavaScript --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Nelson #Mandela #turning #grave #Newsday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nelson Mandela and his successor, Thabo Mbeki, reduced South Africa\u2019s inherited debt and avoided a World Bank or IMF bailout.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46326,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46324\/revisions\/46326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}