Mandela's Economic Legacy Dialogue

‘How do we reduce the deficit? How do we do more with less? Those are questions Madiba had to deal with?’ these were some of the first reflections from former Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel at a dialogue held on Nelson Mandela’s Economic Legacy.

In light of the difficult economic questions facing the country at the moment, the Nelson Mandela Foundation within its mandate of Memory and Dialogue work hosted a dialogue on Mandela’s Economic Legacy.

A diverse panel was drawn which included former finance minister Trevor Manuel, journalist and academic Prof Pippa Green, economist and broadcaster Ayabonga Cawe and author Mandla Langa, who has worked on completing Mandela’s Presidential memoir ‘Dare Not Linger’. Financial journalist Siki Mgabadeli facilitated the discussion.

From the onset it became clear that a difficult discussion interrogating the economic path that Nelson Mandela’s presidency set the country on was on the cards. ‘Mandela wasn't an economist, but he knew what to do to stabilise the economy’, Green explained in contextualising the economic challenges faced by the newly elected ANC government in 1994. 

‘The apartheid economy was spent, far worse than the current downgraded economy’ remarked Green.

There was agreement on the unhelpful practice of not making the founding documents of South Africa’s democracy fluid and adaptable to changing times. Economist Ayabonga Cawe believes that ‘you cannot freeze in the 1990’s’ in an effort to institutionalise solutions to economic difficulties. Manuel added that ‘the Constitution is frozen in time - but says South Africa can drive it forward to produce greater victories’

Cawe challenged Africans to relook at how they engage on restructuring its economy making reference to Zimbabwe and South Africa’s platinum mining industry. "We need to start talking about South Africa's role in Africa and come with strategies to avert a disaster’, adding that it will not be helpful to maintain an arrogance about South Africa’s economy because it will not grow in isolation.

The dialogue posed some difficult questions during the engagements.

When observing liberation movements particularly on the African continent, should the liberators go on to govern? In the context of South Africa, this brings to question the preparedness of the ANC to govern South Africa in 1994. More specifically, ‘were the ANC economic policies in place or even in existence when the time came to usher South Africa into democracy.

More pressing were questions around ‘why the South African newly elected government was not able to create an economy that reflects its people?’

The dialogue made the point that a conversation is needed about how the economy is restructured, as well as how an economy where a basis for new investment is created. In support of this view technology and education are penned as the two key areas that need urgent focus by the state, in an effort to secure growth that is sustainable in South Africa’s economy.