Tackling consumer indebtedness and unscrupulous lending in South Africa

South Africans have been borrowing extensively to meet their own and their dependents’ needs and expectations. Among salaried employees, many have no cash reserves and no investments; their houses, cars, and other assets are bought entirely with borrowed cash, often to the detriment of precarious monthly budgets. Deborah James describes a “creditor advantage” legal culture in the country, where lenders have been able to plunder the accounts of salary earners with impunity, through “deductions”. Her research details the complex social reasons for it and informs efforts to tackle unscrupulous lending.