There is a danger that the GNU is missing the opportunity to grasp the nettle and push on with the economic reforms that the country desperately needs to ignite growth and investment.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min This week saw a slew of announcements on South Africa's economy which suggest we are far from out of the woods despite the buoyant mood (at least in the coffee shops) following the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) earlier this year.

The most important of these was the announcement by Stats SA that gross domestic product (GDP) "weakened by 0.3% in the third quarter" with agriculture, transport, trade and government services applying the brakes.

While the effect of drought on the agriculture number was real, this GDP number serves as more evidence of South Africa's failure to grasp the growth nettle to halt continued economic decline.

The day before the GDP number was released, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he had appointed a 19-person panel of economic advisers to boost the economy as the country takes the G20 presidency.

A closer look at the panel shows that it consists, in the main, of the same economic advisers that he has been consulting over his presidency. There can be no doubting the credentials of most of those on the panel - they are smart and,...