WHO CAME FIRST? THE CAR OR THE DRIVER?

Even though the rand has improved as much as 20% from its lows set in the second quarter it still is not up for the 2020 calendar year. The body blows it received in the way of ratings downgrades and the ceaseless story line of corruption and theft in both the public and private sectors have proved hard to counter. Our currency has halved in value in a decade, as even the most well-meaning investors in and supporters of our peerless piece of Africa became disillusioned. Our poor government is flailing around trying to identify, understand and control everything happening out there in the real world which threatens their grand plan of the National Democratic Revolution planned for South Africa. The main objective is of course finding things to tax because these revolutions don’t come cheap Their problem is that citizens are far nimbler, abler and cleverer that even the grandest and largest of committees stuffed with well fed and clothed politicos and cadres, and in the time it takes to launch and think up a dreary name for their next ponderous control structure, the privateer has written an app, spotted a gap or founded a church and fed the family. For example, at this time of Covid-19 vaccinations there has been much talk about starting a state-owned pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. A sharp-eyed journalist has this week pointed out that there is already such a thing, founded at the height of the HIV panic. Apparently, it produces almost nothing. It’s probably best that we as a country stay out of the sharp end of this business. Oh, and close that outfit. Pretty much everything, with one exception, that we have been told about Covid-19 has turned out to be wrong. The exception is that contracting a heavy dose of this infection is extremely unpleasant and possibly fatal. Fortunately, in South Africa the number of people infected to such an extreme extent has been far fewer than forecast. Why this is so, is simply another thing where the explanations are probably incorrect. But it is indubitably true that the pandemic has opened undreamed of pathways for the accumulation of power and wealth. The latest is of course the arrival of vaccinations -- treatments which we were assured would take years to develop—but which this week were administered to actual patients. Reportedly one of these recipients in England was a man named William Shakespeare, which sounds suspiciously like a marketing ruse. To date, 10 billion doses of the various vaccines have been ordered and since this number is greater than the world’s population it shows that rich bullies have muscled their way to the front of the queue and huge profits beckon. This early indicator of the way in which the allocations of the medicine might happen, prompts Tidemarks to suggest that everyone who is “jabbed” also be “chipped” to provide confirmation of their probable infection-free status. Fierce opposition to this invasion of privacy is likely, but if the recommendation that our leaders and their advisors be among the first to be vaccinated (and of course chipped) were to be followed, it would show their commitment to and belief in the safety of their plans for the rest of us. A positive side effect would be that anyone with a chip should in future escape all the testing and quarantining business. This would also speed up airport queues for all of us. We might also find out all manner of interesting things! Now while all this biochemistry/ epidemiology/ virus malarky is going on, the modern world and free markets continue to gnaw away at the socialist utopia being concocted by our leaders and betters. The internet is just one of many reasons why the SABC is in dire financial trouble and although communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams identified that “a large proportion of the problems are market-related” she still insisted that a government remodel was the solution. Hers is the ministry that has donned the jester’s robes and told the world that in future international entertainment companies will be responsible for collecting TV licence fees from their South African customers and for carrying 30% South African content on their channels. So funny. Not a word about what customers might want. That tour by the English cricketers to SA was a mess and a dreadful embarrassment. And probably yet another example of Covid information misused. And F1? A rookie with shoes too big to fit into Hamilton’s car nearly wins the GP because the maestro is off having a Covid moment. Eish! James Greener Friday 11th December 2020 1 Similar to what we ask the vet to do for our pets by installing an ID tag .