The National Dialogue initiated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, though ostensibly aimed at addressing South Africa’s deepening social and economic malaise, is set to become another symbolic gesture in a long line of similar gestures.

Surveys show that 59% of South Africans ‘strongly believe’ the country is headed in the wrong direction whilst the unemployment rate is a multiple of the global average. That is the mood and the primary problem the government confronts, and if we were to advise it - the advice would be that a dialogue won’t cut it.

What the country requires instead are firm decisions in favour of pragmatic reforms. We agree therefore with Naledi Pandor and other senior political leaders when they argue that asking, at this stage, ‘what should be done’, is not the leadership the country requires.

What are those pragmatic reforms? There are four things South Africa’s unity government can do that would collectively lift the rate of economic growth from the current rate of sub-1% to approach 2% lifting to 3% in the short term and then to 4% and 5% in the medium to long term. The first would be to stop taxing investor capital upon arrival. The second is to refit South Africa’s coal fleet. The third is concessioning port and rail infrastructure at a far greater scale than what is already happening. The fourth is to clarify in law that market value will be the basis of compensation in the event of expropriation of investor capital or assets. A lens on recent policy reveals the gap between dialogue and decisive reform, underscoring what is needed for real change.