Top 15 Miriam Altman Quotes

The only way to have sustained growth is by building human capability, and the reality is the economy. You know, economists, I guess, confuse people, and we're all trained to think about business, but it's not actually a bunch of businesses; it's actually a bunch of people doing a whole lot of things. It’s actually a human system, and that's how we need to treat it to move on.

People ask about growth. The only way to have sustained growth is actually to have inclusion. It is physically whatever anybody thinks.

If you walk away when things aren't going well, I can guarantee you it's a recipe for failure. Participation doesn't guarantee success, but that grip, commitment, and continuation step by step is what's going to make us win.

I think that the key problem we face is unproductive ways of doing things. I don't think it’s the technical problem.

Communications is everything for people. It’s the most fundamental thing. And people are getting cut out of communication if they’re not online. It is an incredible enabler, especially when you have an urban configuration like we do, or spatial configuration, where people are very far from opportunity. So it could be a game changer.

You could see that one of the problems in the company, even though it wasn’t in a competitive market, was that people still had this idea like they were in a monopoly.

One of the most important ways of growing, expanding and developing is to have easy movement of people between countries.

The absolutely most important thing for us is that we should be investing in human capability. It is, I think, the most important ingredient to success in any high-growth developing country, and it’s something that we underplay so significantly in South Africa. I think it’s the reason we don’t make progress.

Young people should leave school with a recognised certificate, be channelled into post-school education and training, and then enabled to access to earning opportunities.

The fastest route back to economic activity, charted in a way that enables physical distancing, will always be the best one. It is always better to generate revenue, in companies and through tax, than it is to save companies or borrow for the shortfall.

Performance of tertiary education institutions will specifically need to be targeted. One option is to tie some part of the government’s institution grant to achieving improved governance, capacity, quality and labour market alignment.

Stuck in a ditch on that lonely Lesotho mountain road, one can try to drive out of it, wait, or walk to the next village for help. One thing is certain. If the truck does not lift out of the ditch, it is going to be a long time before one is back on course to deliver services.

Eskom will have to convince creditors that there is commitment to good governance and a pathway to sustainability. Eskom’s new board is the most important first milestone. Next steps will be to urgently appoint a permanent CEO and round out the Exco in a way that demonstrates a new beginning. Eskom’s communication needs to be open, humble and give stakeholders a true reflection of the state of affairs whether good or bad.

Eskom could not build up sufficient reserves to cover the costs of maintenance, replacement or new capacity.

Staff were quite probably going to say one thing, do another, and wait for Maseko to pass through.