A series of unprecedented and severe economic shocks have proved difficult to withstand. And the portrayal of the SA economy as a resilient aloe ferox rather than a vulnerable lily flower doesn’t match with its perpetual state of (slow) economic recovery, says Eddie Rakabe.
Tito Mboweni kicked off his short stint as a finance minister with an impression of fortitude, presenting his maiden 2019 budget alongside a succulent aloe ferox plant to symbolise the resilience of the South African economy and renewal. Extolling the virtues of the plant, Mboweni reminded his audience how sturdy, resilient and drought-resistant the aloe is. He came back to present the 2020 budget with the same plant, now a sapling, displayed on the lectern full of more praises: