South Africa A Super Power That Will Never Exist

Hey JesSouth Africans

So I'm a born and bred South African and living here is an assault on the senses, it can do a job on the mind which is why South African's have such a great sense of humour. We use it to mask the pain what is a tragic history and a story of a nation that will never fulfil its true potential. Like many countries, we come with a lot of baggage that we haven't emotionally processed, and we hold on to it.

A history of colonization, apartheid, internal fighting, corruption, capital flight, poor monetary policy, and a brain drain has all set the country on the road to limping around for the rest of its existence. It's a shining example of the fact that you can have all the elements to success, but if you don't have the will power, you will never be able to tap into it.

Stupidity and greed trumps any need to succeed

The truth is, we don't have the will, we have a socialist regime that believes in big government, and that means raging incompetence will be able to reach its maximum potential. The amount of waste in resources and potential is unfathomable.

It may sound weird thinking of an African country as a superpower but hear me out for a second, and I'll show you the potential.

Image path - exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu

Natural resources

South Africa is a fertile ground for a several natural resources, mainly gold, platinum and diamonds take the core focus. Something that could have been used to create a sovereign wealth fund like Norway has done with parts of their oil income and used it to diversify their economy.

The gold could have been used to peg our currency to and provide a level of stability and sound financial policy with the use of hard money.

We also produce iron, cobalt, ferrochrome and more; South Africa has an abundance of natural resources that could have been used to set up the country for either internal production capacity or export to global markets.

Agriculture

When it comes to farmable land, South Africans are pretty lucky, the Eastern Cape, as well as the Western Cape, are filled with fertile areas that produce a range of crops. We've got the longest wine route in the world and South African farmers grow a wide array of fruits such as grapes, pineapples, apples, and peaches.

We have more than enough farmable land for total food independence for a nation of this size with enough left over for export if we chose to do so with favourable trade relations that we'rent about personal kickbacks and actually about improving our economy.

Energy

South Africa is rich in coal, we've had coal power stations going for years, be it a total mess now, and the need for repairs we always had the energy of our own and even supplied to neighbouring countries.

Yes, burning coal is not sustainable and not very green, but if not taken over by corruption and state capture could have been used to provide us with resources and time to build support systems.

South Africa is rich in uranium deposited as well as thorium deposits which make the country ideal for both forms of nuclear energy.

It's also one of 7 countries in the world that is ideal for both solar and wind energy at an economical cost and environmental cost with the current technology available. The northern cape, which is the most sparsely populated part of the country has the ideal conditions to power South Africa on green energy.

Having all these options, we could have near unlimited energy to produce and live, and all we would need to secure would be oil. The oil is also not a single point of failure as we do have our own oil reserves coming out of Mossel bay.

Geography

South Africa has a massive coastline and unrestricted access by sea to reach the east and the west via the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The coast has also been a significant source of food with fishing being a key component for local sale as well as exports.

Human capital

This is where it gets a little complicated due to South Africa's history we do have the highest Gini coefficient in the world which means the gap between the haves and the have nots is the highest. Having this level of wealth inequality causes a lot of political and social friction and has produced many South Africans to become delusional. Wealthy individuals have taken themselves and their capital out of the country, while skilled individuals leave to get a better deal or quality of life somewhere else.

The brain drain and capital flight have only served to hold back the country even more with many of our best and brightest choosing to ply their trade and resources in US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

I feel that if positive moves where made we would see a large percentage of ex-pats consider coming back, and this would only help the country as capital and skills flock back.

Demographics

South Africa has around 60 million people and the average age of 27, making us a very young country and country of consumers and untapped labour. We currently run the country with an unemployment rate of around 27 - 30%. This gives us a massive pool of labour to pick from and bring into the economy and is a massively underutilised resource. Bringing these people into the job market would improve their standard of living, enhance local consumption and would be the engine room that further drives economic growth.

All the ingredients but no-cook in the kitchen

It's by no means a guarantee of success, but it sure does provide a foundation that many countries would grab in a heartbeat. We naturally don't have all the advantages that other countries have such as strong economies next door, a strong military presence, strong leadership and a moral of the majority to want better.

It's a sad situation when an individual doesn't fulfil their potential now imagine what that must be like for an entire country. It's why the unwritten story of South Africa will be a real tragedy.

Many South Africans will remain hopeful and enjoy the life they're given, which is by no means the worst life in the world. But they or rather we will never know what life would be like should we have hit our stride, cast off the chains that hold us back and mobilise as a nation.