The South African government is of the view that, on aggregate, crime levels have not had a significant impact on economic growth “relative to other determinants”, says South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance (DA) chief whip Douglas Gibson who asked whether current crime levels in South Africa were harmful to the economy, Manuel said: “To my knowledge there has not been a study in which the relationship between crime and economic performance has been quantitatively investigated.”
“Government does recognise, however, that concerns over crime can generate negative investor and tourist perceptions towards our country,” he said, “This, at least theoretically, has a potential of slowing down investments and tourism, implying therefore a potential negative relationship between crime and economic growth.”
“However, based on economic statistics, government is of the view that on aggregate, crime levels have not had a significant impact on growth relative to other growth determinants,” said Manuel, without elaborating on those determinants.
“It must be borne in mind that economic growth is a function of many factors. Available data shows that South Africa is the fasting growing tourist destination and that investments are growing.”
Government’s policy was one of zero-tolerance, he noted. “We need to eradicate the cancer of crime in our society to improve the standard of living of all our people.” – I-Net Bridge