Magnus Heystek: Why SA’s middle class is quietly being crushed

South Africans are being told everything is fine. Magnus Heystek says it’s a dangerous illusion. In a wide-ranging conversation with Alec Hogg, the veteran investment strategist warns that falling GDP per capita, rising taxes, weak property returns and flawed retirement structures are steadily hollowing out the middle class. From Regulation 28 and retirement annuities to Cape Town’s housing bubble, offshore investing and why optimism may be masking long-term decline, Heystek lays out the uncomfortable maths many would rather ignore. This is not fearmongering, he argues, but survival planning for a country at a financial crossroads.