There'll be a term that will one day best describe the past year in world history that will best reflect just how tumultuous a time it has been for all its inhabitants. Maybe its best left to future generations to define this age we are living in, which will be one of its most significant, as economies quite literally ground to a halt in the face of this pandemic.

While the likes of the International Monetary Fund and other institutions are penciling a rebound from last year's great contraction, its hinged on the successful dissemination of a vaccine programme that has never been undertaken before.

Against this backdrop, South Africa's vulnerabilities have been laid bare. Inequality, a near decade-long run of low growth and corruption that was laid bare by the procurement of personal protective equipment have been exposed. There's much that we need to do to overcome these weaknesses to not only re-emerge after the Covid-19 crisis, but for the future after that.

In Fin24's attempts to not only cover both business and economic news, but to drive the agenda of the day, we are introducing a series that will run over the course of the year called "Recasting the SA Economy". It's something that many have called for, a redo of the economy and setting for importantly inclusive growth in an ever-expanding digital age.

Every Wednesday, we will deliver in-depth pieces on a subject matter that we chose to focus on for a quarter. In this first three months of the year, we've chosen to deliver pieces by our journalists and columnists on the "Burning Fiscus".

You can read our first Burning Fiscus piece here: As debt servicing costs soar, state bets all on wage freeze

Up until the end of March, we will look at all the challenges faced by National Treasury in financing the state, dealing with rising debt and also finding avenues to stimulate the South African economy.

We hope it will focus our minds on the reforms that we need as a nation to recast the economy for greater and shared growth, enabling deeper transformation.

Hope you enjoy...

Ron Derby

Source: News24