AGENDA
14:15 - 14:30 Arrival and coffee / tea
14:30 - 14:45 Opening and welcome by chairperson
14:45 - 16:00 Presentations:
Neva Makgetla: Unemployment and GDP in perspective
Rudi Dicks: Accelerating industrial policy to drive growth
16:00 - 16:30 Discussion
16:30 Closure and light snacks
BACKGROUND
The latest jobs numbers and GDP figures point to the urgency of a strategy to put the economy on an upward trajectory. South Africa has huge capacity, but the vicious cycle of slow growth from 2015 is eroding the resilience of the economy and policy space. In this context, industrial policy has been put forward as an enabler, with the Presidency committed to driving growth through a more systematic approach to industry support and unblocking constraints.
This development dialogue will outline the recent economic data and discuss the potential role for industrial policy and stimulus options.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Rudi Dicks is the outcome 4 facilitator in the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency.
Neva Makgetla is a senior economist at TIPS. Makgetla has published widely on the South African economy and worked for many years in government, most recently as Deputy Director General for Policy in the Economics Development Department, as well as in COSATU.