Browsing: Rand rates

South Africa Loses

South Africa was already in a precarious economic position and did not need the recent social unrest that engulfed its main provinces. It was bad enough that the economy according to the IMF had contracted by 7% in 2020 due to COVID-19 induced shocks through lockdown, stoppages to economic activities and resultant job losses. The new threat to economic recovery that has emerged looks certain to push the country over the precipice to economic collapse in the worst case and in the best case, make its recovery slow and painful. Whichever way the die goes, it remains a serious catch-22 situation. The world watched with shock and horror at images out of South Africa of certain members of that society protesting and subsequently looting and wreaking havoc on privately owned businesses. What had begun as an isolated incident in the country’s KwaZulu Natal province quickly degenerated into a national crisis …