Tighten your belt

摘要

During his annual state-of-the-nation speech earlier this month, President Thabo Mbeki acknowledged that many South Africans feel glum. Besides political uncertainty and some high-level corruption cases, people are now worrying about the economy. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry's latest survey shows that business confidence has slumped to levels last seen in 2003. Another poll near the end of last year, by Ipsos Markinor, revealed that just under half of South Africans thought the government was managing the economy well, a drop of 17 percentage points in a year. Last month's power cuts have also dented confidence.