Growing debt in South African households and easy access to credit is "the biggest time bomb" facing the country, said Ismail Momoniat, deputy director-general of the Treasury. Debt repayment swallows up 78% of citizens' disposable income, according to the Reserve Bank.Speaking at a conference in Johannesburg yesterday, Momoniat said: "I still see adverts for R150000 personal loans - isn't that reckless? We do want credit in the economy, but it can't be right, all these personal loans."Food inflation is expected to exceed 10% by the middle of next year, according to economists, with the hardest hit being the poorest households, who spend a third of their money on food."We can't say the current way we are doing things is right because a lot of households are over-indebted," Momoniat said. "Regulators need to be much more effective."It is widely believed that the Marikana platinum miners' strike, which ended in a massacre, was sparked by workers' desperation about debt.The country's biggest banks have since tightened their lending rules.African Bank, the biggest unsecured lender, collapsed in August last year. Wonga.com is among the short-term lenders that have stepped in to meet the demand for personal loans not backed by assets."We see almost no role for payday lenders," said Momoniat."We've said to the regulators that they're not being tough enough. The banking sector needs to do much more to come to the party. Indebtedness is driving a lot of the instability in our society."As inflation and interest rates climb, and debt burdens get heavier in a country with an official unemployment rate of 25%, peoples' frustration with their economic plight will probably fuel further protests, Momoniat said.The potential for protest will be exacerbated if the government is seen to have failed to deal with corruption, he said."One of the long-term consequences could be that people start marching." ..