Young South Africans are more hopeful and resourceful than their older counterparts about the future of the country. South Africa might experience the biggest loss of skilled people in the next 10 years, should the country fail to arrest corruption and crime. The phenomenon of coalition governance is not a fad, but something that will soon be part of the country’s political DNA – for better or for worse. These are just some of the findings of the Indlulamithi Scenarios 2035, an initiative which – using research from experts in fields as varied as energy supply, housing, education, and municipal planning – tries to chart the future trajectory of the country. One predicts that a new government will work to end corruption and reduce violent crime, thereby convincing the world that South Africa is open for business. The 2035 scenario envisions that the liberal right-of-centre coalition that took power in 2024 alienated citizens with its austerity and repressive crime-fighting tactics, giving way, in 2029, to a fragile populist coalition. In this scenario, in 2026, economic growth increased substantially owing to a number of structural reforms in the 2020s. In this conversation, we talk about the Indlulamithi Scenarios 2035 with Former Statistician General Dr Pali Lehohla.