The reckless manner in which the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement in South Africa (BDS-SA) handles the Israel-Palestine conflict seems to create the need to reiterate the famous words coined by James Carville during the 1992 presidential elections in the United States:
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
The trajectory taken by BDS-SA to selectively discriminate against entrepreneurial and business opportunities by corporations linked to Israel, if not challenged, may lead to a huge collapse of the South African economy and ultimately lead to unwarranted job losses.
The South African economy in past years has been a great concern; the Gini coefficient (a statistical measure of inequality in a society) continues to increase. Standing at close to 0.95 for wealth, it reveals a staggeringly unequal society with our unemployment rate remaining alarmingly high at 27% and a shocking number of young people that are not part of any employment, education or training.
In recent years, the Pretoria administration has had to initiate a number of strategies in order to boost the economy following the downgrades and recession. The South African reality necessitates the need to focus on the economy and, most importantly, create and maintain trade relations with other countries that excel in certain vital economic aspects. This is in the best interests of the people of South Africa.