Tipping Point

2024 – thirty years since democracy and a year of a critical election. Jacana Media has two indispensable books for this momentous year, and Tipping Point, the first, will enable the reader, the citizen, the policy wonk, the lobbyist, the entrepreneur, the teacher, the nurse, the MP, and yes, the president even, to make choices about their lives for the next thirty years. Tipping Point raises critical questions about our political and socioeconomic landscape today and, crucially, whether the 2024 elections are likely to signal more gloom for the country or instead pave the way for positive, enduring change. Editor and prominent economist Raymond Parsons, brings together 16 of South Africa’s leading intellectuals and thought leaders to write on where we are, and where we are going. Some of the themes covered are the role of coalition politics in South Africa; what South Africa’s geopolitical leanings mean for the country’s trade competitiveness; how to make local government work; how do businesses manage in this electricity crisis; BRICS of course, and our position in the international global order, especially in light of our (unspoken) support for Russia in its war with Ukraine, and our wish to have a peace-making role in that war.

Raymond Parsons is a professor at North-West University School of Business & Governance and a Special Policy Advisor to Business Unity South Africa (BUSA). Until recently he was the Deputy CEO of BUSA. Parsons was the Overall Business Convenor at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) until 2010, which is the major social dialogue institution in South Africa. He is a key contributor to public and academic debate on a broad spectrum of issues of critical importance to the political economy of SA and is a recognized authority on the SA economy and its implications for the business community.