Trevor Manuel Reflects on South Africa's Lost Decade

<p>When the apartheid regime ceded power following South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, the economy was in shambles. Debt service costs as a share of GDP were crippling. Trevor Manuel—a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle and appointed minister of finance—revamped the budgeting process and set a stringent deficit reduction target. By 2006, the economy was growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades. In this podcast, Manuel looks back at what drove the country's longest phase of economic growth and how he believes the ruling party he helped establish has lost its way. <a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/imfpodcast/Trevor_Manuel-transcript-IMF_Podcast.pdf"> Read the Transcript.</a></p> <p>Transcript: <a href= "https://bit.ly/3pDMLXp">https://bit.ly/3pDMLXp</a></p> <p>Look for <a href= "https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2021/06/interview-with-south-africa-finance-minister-trevor-manuel.htm"> Putting People First</a> in <a href= "https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/">F&D</a></p>