South Africa’s recovery finally takes shape
From credit upgrades to stable governance, early signs of lasting recovery show South Africa finally moving in the right direction.
For years, many have called me one of South Africa’s most positive business leaders. I’ve always accepted that description with a smile, not because positivity is my default, but because it is a deliberate discipline.
Real optimism depends on realism. The two must walk together. Without one, you drift. Without the other, you stall. But together, they create lift. They elevate.
As we close this year, I sense something rare: a rare kind of hope that feels earned, not imagined. Not the recycled optimism of past eras. Not rainbow nostalgia. Not hype. Not denial.
Just a quiet, steady conviction that something is genuinely turning in South Africa’s story.
There are signs of real movement. After years of erosion, we are beginning to see the scaffolding of recovery.
South Africa received its first sovereign credit upgrade in two decades. S&P Global lifted our local currency from BB to BB+ with a positive outlook. Debt to gross domestic product has stabilised below 80%. Inflation is within the target band. The rand has strengthened by nearly 10% against the dollar.
Eskom, improbably, recorded its first profit in eight years. The lights have stayed on for over a year, not by luck but through reform, private generation and renewed accountability.
Two consecutive primary budget surpluses show a state rediscovering fiscal discipline.
These are not isolated numbers. They mark a transition from crisis management to real management.
Institutions are rediscovering their backbone. Governance, long hollowed out, is beginning to reassert itself.
The government of national unity has steadied the markets and shown that coalition politics, when handled properly, can work. South Africa has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force greylist.
The South African Revenue Service, once gutted, compelled the release of former president Jacob Zuma’s tax records.
A quiet but profound sign that accountability is finding its way back into the system.
Corruption remains – and at levels far higher than any of us should accept. But impunity is no longer guaranteed. Progress arrives in increments and these increments matter.
The South African advantage is: our people. Amid hardship, South Africans continue to innovate, trade, build, teach and care. Our informal sector keeps millions afloat. Our digital and creative industries are thriving. Cape Town’s innovation ecosystem is drawing global attention.
Tourism has surged. Manufacturing remains competitive. Our winelands continue to enchant. Our greatest national asset has never been a mineral or a policy document. It is our collective character: ingenious, warm, collaborative and absurdly resilient.
And there’s citizenship in action. South Africans do not wait for permission to do good. They simply get on with it.
That same spirit gave rise to The Street Store, something very close to my heart, born on a pavement in Cape Town and now clothing people across continents. It is the same instinct that drives community kitchens, neighbourhood safety groups, tutors, mentors and volunteers.
Active citizenship is not rhetoric here. It is who we are. It is Ubuntu, lived daily.
And now, it is being amplified by remarkable technology. Tools like HelloAida.ai, an empathetic and highly accessible online tutor, working in all 11 languages, from Grade 1 to 12, across all key subjects, shows what happens when compassion meets ingenuity.
This is a platform that could transform education completely and expand opportunity faster than any policy process.
Employment is still our defining test, however. Unemployment remains our deepest wound. No recovery is complete without tackling this directly.
Buying local, nurturing small business and correcting our consumption habits are not patriotic gestures. They are economic necessities.
Every rand spent locally keeps factories running, supports distributors and sustains dignity. Every rand exported through fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu, drains the recovery.
Not only financially, but environmentally too. The billions of tons of greenhouses gases and also landfill, generated by disposable fashion are staggering.
Sport can be a moral teacher
Our national teams continue to show what becomes possible when leadership, talent and belief align. The Springboks remain undisputed champions of the world.
The Proteas are resurgent. Banyana Banyana and Bafana Bafana have restored pride on the global stage, with Bafana qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup after years of struggle.
For a sports-mad country, these moments matter. Look at our athletes and paralympians. Sport here is never just sport. It is a rehearsal for nationhood.
Rebuilding our bridges
We must also mend our relationships abroad, especially with partners like the United States, whose trade and investment ties with South Africa remain vital.
In a polarising world, bridge builders will shape the future more than fortress builders.
We are a country in motion
We are not fixed. We are not finished. But we are moving.
The potholes are still there, yet the road ahead is visible at last. South Africa’s revival will never be linear. It will never be perfect. But it is real, visible and worth backing.
And this time, the change looks steady enough to last. Nkosi sikelel iAfrika!
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