President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Image: ALON SKUY
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You really must visit Umhlanga Rocks in KwaZulu-Natal. Not only do they have fantastic weather, restaurants, hotels and the friendliest service staff, but when I was there on Friday you could count seven massive cranes across the skyline.

Cranes are important because they have a good story to tell: new property developments are going up. Hot, residential complexes, bank offices, retail spaces, restaurants are being built. In just a few years the entire place has been totally transformed. In another 10 years it will look like another city. Crucially, men and women are working on all these building projects. They get a wage, take it home, send their children to school and have dignity.

On Thursday morning I was driving through Sandton in Gauteng. I saw the same thing. Massive buildings going up. The place has been totally transformed. The private sector has poured money into it – they want to be here, a place where deals are signed and money is made. People are working.

So the political question to ask is this: what does President Cyril Ramaphosa want?

Does he want economic growth, employment and investment of R100bn, as he has often said? Does he want to continue to drive through Sandton and Umhlanga Rocks and see the new initiatives that we often see? Because if that’s what he wants then he is going about it in a spectacularly poor fashion.

Read Malala's full column in Times Select.

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