It’s now almost 25 years after the end of apartheid and the land question inside Africa’s most powerful economy still remains largely unresolved.

Local economic development and better municipal service delivery are vital if South Africa wants to broaden economic participation and reverse its unemployment trend.

The past few years have been particularly challenging for South Africa’s economy. But, according to the South African Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin published in late September, there are signs of life.

In September 2021 a new opinion poll commissioned by the IRR showed that only 5% of South Africans think land reform should be one of the two top priorities for the government to address.

A report by the World Bank titled, Africa’s Pulse: Climate Change Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa Can Improve Resilience and Deliver Jobs, says that South Africa will need $215-billion — or roughly R3.7-trillion — in investment in its cities to mitigate and adapt to a heating world with a changing climate.

The World Bank expects South Africa to grow by 4.6% in 2021, an upward revision from its 3% April forecast and also a significant improvement on the bank’s 2.6% growth projection published in October last year.