South Africans hoping for a glimmer of a more hopeful future – one that includes real economic growth and shared prosperity – will likely not be paying much attention to the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) this week. Nor will they expect much from our leaders when (most of) the G20 convenes in Johannesburg next week.

We already know what to expect: the same stale government-speak, phrases that have become synonymous with decades of slow decline or stagnation. Job creation, empowerment, entrepreneurship, poverty reduction. Twenty years ago, these sounded like progress, but now we’ve come to accept them as the government’s way of saying “we’re circling back” and “putting a pin in it.” It’s leadership without vision, hoping the public snoozes through yet another policy document full of empty promises.

South Africa remains trapped in old debates, fighting battles that belong to another era and ignoring the writing that’s been on the wall for years.

Rural connectivity, for example, could now be solved through low-Earth orbit satellites. Yet we’re still arguing about why terrestrial broadband hasn’t reached schools in deep rural Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. We’re still dead-set on connectivity strategies that missed their deadlines years ago and were never realistic to begin with.

Digital migration to television remains on the government’s agenda too. You probably missed that, because the issue is two decades old. While the rest of the world long ago moved on from analogue TV to digital TV to online streaming, South Africa is stuck at “Go”. We have smart televisions but not smart policy.

A decade ago, Cape Town aspired to be the “Silicon Valley of Africa,” nurturing innovative start-ups in the tech industry. Today, the more successful of those startups are looking abroad for more agile and enabling policy environments, making one question what the national Department of Small Business Development is developing exactly.

Slow-moving policies are not limited to ICT – microplastics, waste recycling, private participation, the list continues.

Today’s MTBPS will likely be a familiar document, with perhaps a slightly more acute focus on raising government revenue (higher taxes). Even if the MTBPS reflects a more “consensus-driven” approach under the Government of National Unity, it will almost certainly lack a real vision: one where private-sector driven economic growth increases government income, rather than endlessly taxing an already overburdened base.

Ironically, one of South Africa’s greatest opportunities lies in how far behind we’ve fallen. We can leapfrog into the future if we open our eyes to opportunities: internet that is instantly available for all through low-Earth orbit satellite internet, opening up digital currencies and a streaming-focussed national broadcaster. Inviting investment in green technologies, like sustainable aviation fuels for the global aviation industry. A country where fast-tracked private participation in our logistics infrastructure enables growing international trade in agriculture, minerals, and manufactured goods.

Real avenues to job creation, empowerment, entrepreneurship, poverty reduction.

– Gerhard Mulder
Account Manager