Despite having just four working days, this week handed out quite a
lot for investors to think about. The All Share Index backed off from its
tentative foray above 36 000 quite sharply but then appeared to think better of
its timidity. Another development is that the daily value of shares traded, is now
regularly well above R15bn, A month ago days that busy were rare. Have the
dreaded High Frequency Traders at last put in their threatened appearance?
Another of the supposedly
omniscient and all-powerful ratings agency last night smacked SA down a notch for
its estimated credit-worthiness. Moody’s made the not unreasonable observation
that the government is not actually showing any ability to control and improve the
economic situation even if they can talk eloquently about what they plan to do.
The timing of the downgrade is interesting. The local bond market is about to
make an (infinitesimal) debut in a world index. Bond markets are more
interesting than they look!
It is now well over a year since the census happened and as yet I
don’t think a single result has been published. This delay speaks volumes about
the process as the head-counters are obviously encountering some pretty thorny
problems with their raw data. Much the same has happened over at SAA, the
national state owned airline, where they are reluctant to publish the financial
results for a 12 month period that began in April last year! Most of the board have now stormed off in a
huff complaining that the shareholder doesn’t care about them. On the contrary
the shareholder is appalled that they have managed to lose so much money that
they are not even sure how much of a bail-out they need. “Between R4bn and
R6bn” is the rumoured amount. A 50% variance suggests a total lack of control
of where the money is going. The shareholder must be desperately wondering who
will take this very sick albatross off their hands. Noticeably, any government
official who thinks they are important enough chooses a VIP charter over a seat
on SAA.
Its is a great shame that the prosecutors appear to have missed most
of the targets that were presented by Julius Malema’s mysterious and meteoric
amassing of massive moolah. Mere money laundering is now the sole charge against
the man and any politician worth the name feels that this sort of activity is a
résumé requirement and not a crime. Similarly it looks as if losing one’s
firearm is a necessary event before any policeman can feel part of the squad.
1200 police weapons have gone missing in the last 18 months which somewhat highlights the near
irrelevancy of imposing ever stricter
controls on those who have actually paid to own a gun and are obviously far
more focussed on keeping it safe.
Not even the most optimistic and naïve believer in the notion that political
institutions are a force for good can have survived the United Nations’
appointment of our president Jacob Zuma as champion of education. This
supremely perverse decision indicates nothing less than stupidity and also
disrespect for the people of this country who are desperate to achieve some
learning. Maybe actually not having too much education should not be a barrier
to such an appointment, though it is hard to argue this position. But choosing
a man who represents a government that has so swiftly dragged the country to
the foot of almost every global league table of literacy and numeracy is definitely
wrong. We citizens should demand that every appointee to this dubious position
be required to write, unaided and in their own hand an essay of not less than 500 words on the subject:”
Why I am a Champion of Education.” Marks for neatness AND spelling will be
awarded.
Lions supporters are torn between the obvious need that the ‘bokke
have for talented players and the difficulty of defending the top spot in the
Currie Cup log without some stars. Nevertheless it has been fun up to now. Who
thought the monsoon season was a good time for a cricket tournament in Sri Lanka?
What sense does an innings of just seven overs make?
James Greener
28th September 2012
