The idea that
the state can allocate resources better than the market has been a very
important contributor towards preventing this country from growing as fast as
it needs to. Not only is it a very bad idea but also its implementation has
some diabolical twists which have prolonged the agony. The state sets
benchmarks which are racist, unfair to most parties and open ended. Recently the
courts ruled that mining enterprises which had attained the required race
composition amongst its owners could keep that box ticked even if at a later
stage the ratio changed in the “wrong” direction. This “Once Empowered Always
Empowered” judgement appeared to be accepted by government but now minister of
mines Gwede Mantashe has decided to challenge the court decision. The industry
is plunged back into a state of uncertainty and taxpayers will be handed yet another
lawyer’s bill for legal action against themselves! It’s a dreadful situation
that will once again delay our return to becoming a competitive and significant
player in the minerals markets.
The new
president and his rejigged cabinet are not as tough as we hoped. They are about
to send SAA another bail-out cheque for R5bn when what they really need to do
is put the airline on an internet auction site and insist on a cash payment from
the successful bidder. The problem is that the finances are in such a mess that
no one has much of a clue what the thing is worth and a bid of even R1 might be
overpaying. SAA’s recent history of having the president’s girlfriend in charge
and a cabinet minister who described airline pilots as glorified taxi drivers were
just the latest in a series of very poor choices of people to run the thing. The
live maps on the internet that display the location and route of virtually
every civilian plane currently in the air clearly illustrate what a competitive
industry this is. Governments have no aptitude for being in this kind of
business.
Reporters who
write about these things got very excited with some data that came out which
showed that SA consumers were more confident about the future than at any other
time in the past. This is indeed a newsworthy though puzzling result which
doesn’t really feel right. Are consumers really unconcerned by the hike in the
VAT rate and other new and increased taxes. Is no one unhappy that we now pay more for
fuel than ever before? What about the declarations of no-go zones in parts of
our country following dreadful outbreaks of violence and civil insurrection? Sadly,
in common with other hitherto mostly reliable data like company financial
results, many statistics appear to be “massaged” before publication and are
probably misleading.
Now that
auditors and accountants have joined lawyers at the foot of the “Most Trusted
Profession” league table, Noel Coward’s advice to Mrs Worthington not to put
her daughter on the stage may no longer be correct. Treading the boards as a
thespian or chanteuse at least attracts honest if not always pleasant reviews. And
no one moves away from you at parties when you tell them what you do.
So, after my
comment last week, the rugby became entertaining again. However, the other big
problem this year has to do with colour. Of the jerseys that is. And the
referee’s kit. My aging eyes increasingly find it hard to distinguish the teams
and there are clearly occasions when the pass goes to the opposition, so the
players are also bamboozled. At the very least one side should be in different
coloured shorts. And who at the Bulls game, when the two sides were in hues of
blue, thought that putting the ref in mauve was sensible? That Azerbaijan street circuit for this
weekend’s Grand Prix is strangely sterile and lifeless. Why won’t the FIA schedule
one for Kyalami again? We could have minibus taxi races for the curtain raiser.
No need for the Safety Car. They’ll pass him on the inside.
James
Greener
Freedom Day
(but not the country’s birthday) 2018
