Just hang on a minute. Can this be real?
The BRICS have set up a $100bn currency stabilisation fund (i.e. a buyer of
last resort) and little old us have pledged $5bn towards it. Leaving aside the
near hopelessness of trying to take on
global currency markets, what is going to be the local public reaction when this news
becomes more widely known? How long will it be before that amount gets
expressed in numbers of houses for the homeless, school books for the unlearned
or even fuel for the air force? What
actual benefits excepting foreign travel opportunities for politicians do we
receive from pretending that we can play in this league? Rather tellingly the
Economist newspaper’s recent articles about the BRICS never even mentioned us
as members.
Similarly the news that President Zuma
jetted off to Russia for the G20 meeting promising that he was going to tell
them to do something about emerging market currency volatility is a tad
embarrassing. Despite his undoubted bulk and presence I doubt anyone there is
going to pay much attention. Much more concerning for delegates there, is the
division of the globe into two camps on the topic of whether to do anything
about Syria
and if so, what. The woes of the rand are trivial compared to that.
Because the last one was asked quietly to
leave, the nation is now seeking a new commissioner for the South African Revenue
Service. Interestingly the job advertisement nowhere mentions explicitly that
experience and qualification in tax, accounting or finance would be useful.
Competence in leveraging diversity is required. Whatever does that mean? An
interesting aside to emerge from the land ownership audit is that it is not
possible to provide a breakdown of ownership by race because the home affairs data
base no longer carries such a classification. So how then is it possible to calculate
BEE scores and all the other insulting racist categorisations we voted to
remove 20 years ago?
One of the few certainties of SA is that
wherever you go it is possible to find a Castle lager, usually chilled to
perfection. And yet the bureaucrats over at the competition commission are
still convinced that there is something not right with SAB’s distribution
system and want to dismantle it. In fact rather than condemn it perhaps they should
be employing its undoubted strengths and efficiencies to distribute school
books, social grants and other government services that government officials
seem unable to organise.
It’s always fun when market prices set a
new high. This week saw a 100million euro fee paid to transfer a soccer player
named Gareth Bale from one club to another. A good chunk of that fee should
quickly be recovered by his new club selling replicas of his numbered team
shirt to fans. It is reported that the fellow himself will be paid in the
region of R400 a second whether he is on the field hoofing a ball, asleep in
bed or hoisting a pint down at the pub. This contrasts starkly with the report
about a league for young children in Ontario
which, in the interest of safety, now plays “ball less” soccer. The kids need
to imagine where the ball might be and race after it. Seriously?
I do hope the ‘bokke in Brisbane tomorrow
know exactly where the ball is at all times by hanging on to it and carrying it
over the try line several times. Despite on paper having a really good side and
a bench packed with superb replacements this trip down under is still very
worrying.
James Greener
6th September 2013
