The markets are regaining their
composure, trying to forget about the panic that seized them last month.
Admittedly the All Share does appear to having a bit of an issue with cracking
41 000 decisively but considering it launched from 38 000 it might think it deserves
a rest day or two. As ever it is impossible to see any substantive new facts
which may have calmed the bull’s fears and again as usual it appears to be all
down to what one man in Washington
says about opening or closing the dollar money taps. What enviable power. Or as
one commentator puts it: What an unhealthy obsession for this man the markets
are developing.
Yet again the brains trust that meets at
the Reserve Bank every couple of months came to the conclusion that our most useful
commodity – cash – is priced just right and left the repo rate unchanged. They
did, however, acknowledge that many folk are struggling to find customers and
clients able and eager to pay for stuff and in consequence the economy is
probably getting even more sluggish. It will, they thought, manage to grow just
2% this year. This is not the case for everyone though. Those who have clawed a
way to near the top of the government payroll are doing OK. In particular
spirits in the Ntombembe household have risen pretty high this week when it was
announced that Auditor General Terence was to get a salary increase of R1m a
year backdated for 6 years. Is that that a reward for pointing out how many
state-owned and operated institutions are incapable of doing their sums?
The ruling party official, who
enthusiastically claimed that its policies and record were so compelling that
even fish would vote for it, must be dismayed by Deputy President Motlanthe’s more
pragmatic suggestion that the party’s struggle history meant nothing to
citizens who are much more concerned about their government fulfilling its
promises. A similar dose of pragmatism was doled out to Minister Davies by the
slew of European high-ups who popped down to the southern tip to escape the
heat wave back home. They pointed out to Comrade Rob that it is pretty foolish
to renege on agreements with your clients and customers. Rather, they suggested
he should worry about the little black spots which are growing on the oranges
we are trying to sell to them.
The South African Revenue Service’s
reputation for ruthless and incorruptible efficiency was discovered to be
spotty as well when it was revealed that the Commissioner has been keeping
strange company and had adopted an allegedly sexist job interview technique. Minister
Gordhan eradicated the blight with commendable speed but we may not have seen
the last of this epidemic.
The fixtures list
for the dozens of matches that comprise the round-robin phase of the Super 15
are a fantastic balancing act which valiantly attempts to satisfy dozens of
competing requirements. So complex is the task of compiling this list that
reportedly the SANZAR rugby officials outsource the job to a specialist team in
Canada.
One advantage of this arrangement is that the folk there probably have little
idea what rugby is beyond it being something that you would rather not try to
do on ice. With a similar knowledge of cricket those Canadians should be asked
to take a look at the international tours program. They would instantly spot
that there is something wrong with scheduling seven back to back ODI matches
against India
over 26 days. And would they not suggest that to have an Aussie tour that does
not play a test at Wanderers is a serious omission. Surely they would question why within a year
of the Proteas hosting Pakistan
we send our lads to play them all over again in the Persian
Gulf. In the meantime this
weekend we face the usual struggle deciding which side most deserves to lose
the Ashes tests, reminding each other that yellow jersey wearer in Le Tour is
actually an Old Johnnies boy, and marveling at how hard links golf is even in
good weather. Time to go and plump up the cushions on the couch. And to polish the
bottle opener.
James Greener
19th July
2013
