A place for professionals and business to organise and mobilise in order to realise a South Africa that affords all dignity and collective prosperity.
South Africa
Joined June 2025
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Our economic growth remains a persistent challenge that is too weak to accomodate opportunities at the scale that the country needs. Stagnation is no neutral economic norm. Its costs are seen in unrealised potential, frustrating constraints and lost opportunities.
A nation supported by competent institutions, an environment where businesses can invest and people can be productive requires the collective's capacity to turn policy into execution and resources into productive ventures.
We must move beyond managing our stagnant economic conditions and confront the structural barriers that prevent South Africa from realising her economic potential
#TheGrowthProblem
#economicbarriers
#ProfessionalsandBusiness
South Africa is facing striking challenges. Inflation shot to 4.5% in September, our GDP contracted by 0.2% in Q2 and the unemployment rate is sitting at a stark 33.6%. These statistics all tell a story about the mounting pressure that sits on our economy's chest, creating strain in every household and business.
As the country approaches the Local Government Elections on the 4th of November, our economic realities are blazing the spotlight on governmental efficiencies, looking at how politics and leadership are influencing our living conditions.
Post the elections, will our economy sow the seeds of fruitful opportunities while establishing institutions that are capable of supporting them? Surely a South Africa where decisions are led by institutions that carry their responsibilities with dignity and transparency, and Professionals & Businesses can play a part in shaping the country's development is possible.
Let's look beyond the numbers and start questioning the institutions and ways of governance that shape our opportunities and livelihoods.
#professionalsandbusiness
#LocalElections
#excellentgovernance
The state of South Africa's economy cannot be recognised through its economic lens alone. Political choices, institutional intelligence and professional governance produce specific economic after-effects.
Inflation, growth, unemployment and funding are crucial measures of economic performance. However, the broader question is whether these outcomes are expressing an environment where individuals and businesses are able to participate in the economy without jumping through hoops or experiencing blocks. Economic advancement needs us to move beyond the figures and examine the connection between institutional implementation, governance, economic opportunities and the social outcomes it births.
The Economic State Address not only puts a magnifying glass on the economy's performance, but it also reveals the government's capacity to design an economy that's efficient and affords all South Africans dignity.
#Governance
#economicstate
"The grass is greener where our taxes are watering the right places." 🫗
Does state failure only end at public services?
Imagine a South Africa where public institutions delivered on the constitutionally mandated services that our taxes pay for.
What would our new reality look like?
More money in our pockets because of decreased private expenses.
Improved health, academic, security outcomes.
Reduced unrest.
A lower cost of doing business.
Growing investment.
Tell us what we missed in the comments 👇🏼
A united, safe, prosperous and equal society that affords all citizens a happy and dignified life. A corruption-free government with highly professional and ethical employees and state institutions. A safe country where all citizens, irrespective of class, race, gender or creed can enjoy the fullest freedom of existing without fear of harm. Conducive learning and working environment in public institutions. World class levels of service and care. Improved performance in all spheres including academic outcomes, and not just in sport. An enabling social democratic political environment. A non-extractive thriving economy. Shrinking unemployment. A growing tax base. And an overall improved quality of life and calibre of leadership. ✊
Professionals & Business for Change retweeted
Now and then: Navi Pillay
This year's peace laureate Navi Pillay has been a champion for international legal order for her whole life.
Pillay grew up in a family of Indian Tamil descent in Durban, South Africa, where in 1967 she founded her own law firm. In the 1980s she studied at Harvard University and earned a doctor's degree. The first picture was taken during her studies at Harvard.
Pillay later became the first non-white female judge of the High Court of South Africa. Today she works as a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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According to South Africa's 2026 Budget, 63% of municipalities are in financial distress. The National Treasury reports that Johannesburg is suffocating under a R64 billion water infrastructure backlog. Those that have the means to insulate themselves from failing public services, find private alternatives. Those without, are left to their own devices.
The opportunity cost of a failing public services is that the capital used to fund backup systems cannot be directed towards funding development, investment, innovation or even leisure.
The argument can be made that the private sector can grow the economy by identifying opportunities and offering solutions to the public failures. The reality, however, is that we cannot grow an economy by paying twice for the same things, first through our taxes and secondly through backup systems.
It is therefore the responsibility of all professionals and entrepreneurs to lend their time, skills and resources to ensuring the state succeeds. 👨💼
#SAEconomy #WaterCrisis #InfrastructureDevelopment #professionalsforchange #OrganiseForChange #MobiliseForImpact
"We do not have the luxury of giving up, because injustice never takes a day off."
Congratulations to Navi Pillay, a jurist, human rights advocate and consummate professional for bringing home the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
Professionals and Businesses for Change thanks and honours you for your lifetime of service to upholding and advancing human rights and international law. Your tireless pursuit of justice is an inspiration to us all. 🇿🇦
Professionals & Business for Change retweeted
Residents are cutting back on savings, food, healthcare and debt repayments in order to keep up with the ever increasing cost of electricity. This is untenable. 4/5
Professionals & Business for Change retweeted
2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.
This year’s laureate has significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today Navi Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.
In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.
Learn more about the 2026 #NobelPeacePrize: bit.ly/4xjOJ03
#NobelPeacePrize #NobelPrize
Professionals & Business for Change retweeted
What do your water test results really mean?
Understanding what’s in our water matters. #Watercan's Nomsa Daele explains that water-testing kits measure indicators tell a different part of the story about the health of your water.
#rippletheobserver #watercantestingweek
While we hold the privileged title of "middle-class," our reality is that more and more, we are having to forgo retirement planning to fund our children's education in the hopes of securing a future for them, less precarious than our own. #QualityEducation
To quote Professor Somadoda Fikeni, "There exists a 'Political Economy of Inefficiency' in the public administration."
What does this mean for us? It means, we pay PAYE, VAT, a fuel levy, tolls and escalating municipal tariffs at rates comparable to those of developed countries, without the benefits of systems that function as efficiently as they should. The consequence? An opportunistic shadow economy within the public service that willfuly breaks the system in order to produce a demand for services already paid for at an additional cost. As well as rapid privatisation.
The administrative inefficiencies witnessed are not accidental, but by design. The fix? Quite simply, a professinalised and ethical Public Service. And both must exist simulataneously.
#QualityEducation #Privatisation #SAEconony #ProfessionalsForChange #BusinessForChange #OrganiseForChange #MobiliseForImpact
"The commodification of education in South Africa is no longer just a trend, it is a booming asset class. Over the last decade, corporate giants and private investment funds have recognized a massive, desperate market of middle-class parents willing to stretch themselves to the financial brink just to get their children into functional classrooms. Companies like Curro Holdings and ADVTech, alongside rapid-expansion models like SPARK Schools, have transformed basic learning into a lucrative business.
What was once envisioned as a fundamental human right enshrined in Section 29 of our Constitution has been effectively packaged, priced, and tiered." ~ @NoozBebe_
#QualityEducation #Privatisation #SAEconony #ProfessionalsForChange #BusinessForChange #OrganiseForChange #MobiliseForImpact
Oil, inflation, interest rates, tariffs, tolls and levies all on the rise.
And here’s another uncomfortable reality, there’s an impending El Niño season which is sure to put further strain on food prices along with temperatures likely to cause heat related casualty events.
Don’t be blindsided, join the conversation in our next instalment of The Provocation as we unpack what El Niño means and how to practically prepare for and navigate it in the midst of this cost-of-living crisis.
Date: Thursday, 29 October 2026
Time: 18H00 - 21H00
Venue: Le Vin, Rosebank
#ElNiño #TheProvocation #ProfessionalsForChange #BusinessForChange #SAEconomy
Access to private alternatives is a privilege, and while it is a gnawing inconvenience, many cannot escape the lashings that public sector failures constantly dish out.
Extended periods without water and/or poorly treated water create the perfect environment for disease outbreaks. Poor policing and crime prevention strategies create a conducive environment for criminality to thrive. The lack of availability of quality schools dooms the next generation to poor prospects of meaningful and gainful employment. These very basic services are the difference between life and death, when you cannot afford to insulate yourself through private services.
#Privatisation
#PublicServices
#OrganiseForChange
Access to private alternatives is a privilege, and while it is a gnawing inconvenience, many cannot escape the lashings that public sector failures constantly dish out.
Extended periods without water and/or poorly treated water create the perfect environment for disease outbreaks. Poor policing and crime prevention strategies create a conducive environment for criminality to thrive. The lack of availability of quality schools dooms the next generation to poor prospects of meaningful and gainful employment. These very basic services are the difference between life and death, when you cannot afford to insulate yourself through private services.
#privatehealthcare
#poorpublichealth
