Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan used the word "transformation" multiple times in his recent budget speech.
Gordhan's message was unequivocally blunt: economic growth is inextricably linked to transformation. The one cannot exist without the other inasmuch as "We need to grow in order to transform. Without transformation, growth will reinforce inequality; without growth , transformation will be distorted by patronage."
Therein lies the rub - growth and transformation are mutually exclusive concepts in Zuma's government given the presence of rampant corruption, patronage, nepotism, wasteful and irregular expenditure, to mention a few.
Gordhan was sending a warning to government, but whether it was understood is debatable. For those who did not, let me spell out in simplistic terms what Gordhan meant: economic growth is the catalyst for transformation, but only if you stop the plunder and looting of public assets and resources.
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