In 2003, Thabo Mbeki – then president of South Africa – described South Africa’s economy as being like a two-storey house. The top floor was quite plush, with all the fittings packed neatly together. He referred to this as the modern, diversified economy within South Africa. Below that level, however, was an informal economy where the poor were trapped in poverty, with little or no skills.
Mbeki’s analogy went further: there was no interconnecting staircase between the two floors. In effect, South Africa had two economies and there was no bridge between them.
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