Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has warned that South Africa will face a collapse if the government doesn’t make decisions to restore confidence and to take action against the country’s decline.
De Ruyter conveyed his message at the second BizNews Investment Conference held in Hermanus, where he said it is now up to President Cyril Ramaphosa to show bold leadership and choice growth.
“South Africa is in crisis. Our economy shows no sign of meaningful growth, investor confidence is shrinking, our currency is beleaguered, government debt is ballooning to unsustainable levels,” de Ruyter warned.
“Civil unrest is destabilising our cities and towns, crime is pervasive and increasingly violent, and political murders are an all too frequent event.”
He painted a picture of a country in deep trouble, where inequality remains the worst in the world, corruption is entrenched, and young people are leaving in search of better prospects abroad.
“Sadly, our talented young people see little chance of making their future in this country. An ever greater number head for more stable and lucrative destinations, depriving South Africa of much-needed talent for growing our economy,” he said.
De Ruyter argued that the crisis of today mirrors the one South Africa faced in the late 1980s, just before the fall of apartheid.
“Now, if you think that I’m talking about 2025, you’re sadly mistaken. I’m talking about 1989. The picture I’ve painted was the one that immediately preceded the end of apartheid,” he said.
He pointed out that FW de Klerk, faced with economic collapse and global isolation, chose a bold new path that transformed the country.
“Instead of doubling down, he opted for the only course of action open to him. Not only did he do the necessary thing, but he also did the right thing.”
Drawing a parallel with the present, de Ruyter urged Ramaphosa to make a similar choice. With five months to act, he explained that Ramaphosa has to choose between quiet failure or a legacy-defining pivot to growth and prosperity.
Ramaphosa has five months
Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter
De Ruyter outlined what he called his “fantasy SONA”, which included the kind of reforms Ramaphosa could announce to restore confidence.
He called for a new, means-tested empowerment system targeted at the poorest South Africans, rather than politically connected elites.
“Instead of the largesse doled out in BEE deals, let’s address inequality through economic empowerment of those who need it most. The vast majority of beneficiaries will be black anyway, but without racialising the policy,” he said.
He urged the creation of a new anti-corruption body to replace the Scorpions, a moratorium on equity deal requirements for new investments, and firm commitments to fiscal prudence, zero-based budgeting, and an independent Reserve Bank.
“Cut the size of the cabinet, and deregulate and stop state-owned enterprises from crowding out the private sector with government-guaranteed funds. State entrepreneurship has reached the end of the road,” he added.
On foreign policy, he said South Africa needed to distance itself from America’s adversaries and recommit to property rights and due process in land reform.
“Don’t praise Zimbabwean land grabs as ambitious reforms, denounce ‘Kill the Boer’, and commit to protecting property rights.”
Most importantly, de Ruyter insisted, the country’s focus must be growth. “Grow, grow, grow, because that solves almost all of our problems,” he said.
“The answer is not more regulation, racial quotas, or forced ideological interventions in the economy. We’ve got to remove every impediment imaginable to enable the economy to perform to its potential.”
He warned that the world has grown tired of South Africa’s empty promises. “Year after year, team South Africa goes to Davos saying it’s business unusual,” he said.
“Now, like those scarves, that story is becoming threadbare. People don’t believe us anymore.”
For de Ruyter, the 2026 State of the Nation Address will be the president’s last chance to change course. “Sona 2026 really is the last opportunity for business unusual,” he said.
“The country cannot afford more prevarication, procrastination and commissions. We now need to deliver; we now need to perform. Unleash the economy, unleash private enterprise to prevent us from tumbling over the edge.”
“The president has five months to write a speech that will change the course of our nation. If he follows this outline, he can secure his legacy as a leader who finally stepped up to lead when South Africa needed it last.”
Source:businesstech
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