South Africa has long lost investor confidence, especially from abroad, due to decades of perpetual corruption and subsequent degrading governance and service delivery.
In this video, Rob Hersov urges listeners to protect their wealth by investing in specific areas outside of the ruling African National Congress’ (ANC) control. Having inherited a “functioning first-world economy”, he supports this claim with several key points and statistics.
Increasing unemployment, debt & brain drain
These range from economic stagnation and increasing poverty, considering South Africa’s GDP has grown at an annual average of only 1.3%, which is slower than the population growth rate of 1.4% since 2008. On the corruption front, Hersov blasts the ruling elite’s institutionalised corruption now functioning as a “business model”.
South Africa has the “highest unemployment rate in the world,” soaring at 32.9% while youth unemployment is even higher at 44.6%. Hersov notes that only 12% of South Africans pay income tax, and 62% of the black population receives state grants, which he calls an unsustainable “Ponzi scheme”.
The national debt-to-GDP ratio has significantly increased since 2008, from 24% to 75%. The government now spends 20% of its revenue just to service the debt, which is the nearly same amount spent on health and policing combined. All the while foreign direct investment has been volatile, and nearly one-fifth of the white South African population has emigrated, taking their skills and capital with them since 1994, Hersov asserted.
‘Diversify out of ANC risk’
Hersov offers the audience his thoughts on how to secure better value for their bucks and secure “state-proof” investments in five key areas:
- Gold: He recommends physical gold as a “safe haven” and a store of value that the ANC “can’t destroy” or inflate away.
- Bitcoin: He describes Bitcoin as “digital gold,” which is portable, divisible, and impossible for governments to confiscate or print.
- Technology and AI: This sector is “location independent” and doesn’t rely on government infrastructure like Eskom. He notes that global tech giants, like Microsoft, are investing in South African talent “despite the ANC’s vision”.
- Tourism: He suggests investing in tourism businesses that can operate “independently of government infrastructure,” such as private game reserves, hotels, and wine estates with their own power and water.
- Western Cape Property: Hersov calls the Western Cape the “Safe Haven Province” due to its competent provincial government, reliable infrastructure and low crime rates. He notes that property market growth in the Western Cape outpaced the national average in the year to January 2025, and it has become a hotspot for investment buyers.
Hersov highlights the importance of carefully planning one’s future financials in the midst of spiralling erosion and degradation of South African governance.
“South Africa is uninvestable under the ANC… If you’re still putting your money into this economy under their leadership, you’re not investing, you’re gambling with your family’s future.”
