Claire Bisseker
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Past articles by Claire:
Recession looms for battered SA
The economy buckles under power cuts and other ills, posting a dismal -1,3% quarterly growth → Read More
Can we shield South Africa from climate change?
South Africa could become an apocalyptic wasteland if it fails to take future-proofing seriously. Current crises such as water shortages and load-shedding exist because we ignored the initial warning signs — as we are doing with the environment → Read More
Can the rand bounce back from a blowout?
The currency is under intense pressure and is likely to suffer extended weakness this year, but it should bounce back strongly as soon as the Fed stops hiking → Read More
South Africa is losing the literacy battle
The country faces a systemic failure in early-grade education, but national government is ignoring experts’ pleas for urgent intervention, forcing civil society to lead the way → Read More
This, Mr Ramaphosa, is the real state of the nation
In towns and cities across the country visited by the FM, the stories we were told were of a bracing reality at odds with the fanciful story of progress espoused by President Cyril Ramaphosa. For how long can the ANC avoid the truth? → Read More
Companies’ stark choice: produce power or perish
It has become clear for business that if you want to carry on in South Africa, you have to become less reliant on Eskom → Read More
The great semigration: Should you join the exodus?
The Western Cape is stealing Gauteng’s lunch as the pace of semigration to the coastal province accelerates. At this rate it will overtake Gauteng’s GDP per capita by 2040, if not earlier → Read More
ANC does an economic time warp — again
The ANC’s December elective conference revealed once again just how bad it can be at making economic policy. As long as the party persists with this antiquated approach, the economy will be worse off → Read More
A stronger mandate to reform
Business has breathed a sigh of relief over the outcome of the ANC leadership battle. With the balance of power tilting in Ramaphosa’s favour, economic policy continuity and faster reform could lie in store → Read More
Why SA dodged the recession bullet
Latest statistics are a sign of hope amid the doom and gloom, but it’s still a hard world for consumers → Read More
Phala Phala: A ‘defining moment’ for South African business
The threat of Cyril Ramaphosa’s resignation could shave a percentage point of South Africa’s parlous GDP growth. But while some CEOs have slammed the Phala Phala report by Sandile Ngcobo’s panel, Neal Froneman says the president should have quit → Read More
An expected teacher exodus in South Africa could be a good thing
An unprecedented wave of retirements by educators is foreseen by 2030, just as the pupil population peaks. Unless well managed, this could cause teacher shortages and rising class sizes → Read More
S&P is not swallowing the Kool-Aid on South Africa
The affirmation of the current credit ratings by the global agency belies the cautious tone of its analysis and is a reminder of the reason the country is pegged at three notches into junk status → Read More
Builders vs burglars: who will win in South Africa?
A new book shows how taking a long view of economic history casts South Africa’s current travails in a more optimistic light, and reveals the importance of embracing technical innovation and expanding economic freedom as a route to prosperity → Read More
Why interest rates haven’t peaked
As terminal rates loom in developed and developing countries, market watchers are trying to pinpoint the moment when central banks will pivot from hiking to cutting rates. Don’t hold your breath → Read More
Abandoned: Is it the end of SA’s construction industry?
Fifteen years ago, SA’s blue chip construction firms dominated the JSE’s leaderboard. Since then, some have collapsed, or quit the industry. And more casualties could follow → Read More
Enoch Godongwana’s three budget surprises
The medium-term budget delivered a huge revenue overrun but, even so, the improvement in the debt trajectory surprised many – as did some shifts in Treasury’s stance on spending. Growth, however, remains the elusive ingredient → Read More
Medium-term budget: there’s good news, but…
Godongwana’s MTBPS contains promising signs of a fiscal turnaround, but sustaining these gains will be tough in the absence of faster growth → Read More
Trying to untangle SA’s jobs-wages knot
South Africa’s collective bargaining dispensation is an insanity in a country with masses of unskilled, unemployed young people → Read More
Inside SA’s public service conundrum
Despite the government’s claims that basic education, health care and criminal justice are priority sectors, significant job losses loom due to ‘unprecedented’ budget cuts → Read More