Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the lack of action and decisiveness in the European Union to address a debt crisis in that region risks a global recession.

The world is facing its worst economic crisis in 70 years, Gordhan said in a speech at the University of Stellenbosch, near Cape Town today. South Africa’s economy needs to expand about 6 percent to 7 percent, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net