“South Africa is at the lowest level I have seen”
Sasfin Securities deputy chairman David Shapiro has stated that South Africa is at the lowest level he has ever seen, and that people do not realise how far the country’s economy has slipped.
Speaking on BusinessDay TV, Shapiro said he has never seen the mood in the country so dreary, with investors and citizens not knowing what to do.
Shapiro said he is astonished that nothing is being done about the country’s problems – like the alleged Gupta-linked corruption, questionable cabinet changes, and the harm to the economy.
He said it is short-sighted from the ANC and the government to believe that the situation will correct itself.
“We are not seeing evidence that someone is being punished, or that there is a new ANC emerging,” said Shapiro.
South Africa’s economy slipping
Shapiro said people do not fully realise how far South Africa’s economy has slipped.
“What astonished me in terms of our GDP is that we are not far off from Israel, which is the size of the Kruger Park and has not been blessed with oil or minerals,” said Shapiro.
He said South Africa’s GDP per capita has been falling steadily for the past five years, which means South Africans are getting poorer.
This is shown in the graphs below.
GDP per Capita
GDP growth
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