Cyril's address cause for optimism

While one would be well advised against premature praise for the policy direction of the present administration, President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to parliament this month provided South Africa's long-suffering people with some grounds for cautious optimism.

Most importantly, he foregrounded the imperative of driving economic growth. We at the Institute of Race Relations have argued that this has been the great failing of South Africa since the global financial crisis.

Growth itself may not solve all the country's problems, but it is a necessary condition for addressing them.