SOASATIES. SOUTH AFRICA’S OWN SPIKE(D) PROTEIN

Commodities prices are blasting through 5-year highs as the recovery from last year’s lockdown lows just keeps going. They are still not halfway back to the last giant price peaks of 2007 though. The indices are not much use for that sort of time scale though and each specific commodity will have a fascinating tale to tell of its market price journey. What seems obvious though is that people want to get back to work and make and sell things. It is astonishing how quickly the sense that their citizens were utterly fed up with the various virus transmission control measures still being enforced, made authorities relax their rules. Undoubtedly the dramatic unmasking of Prof Fauci in the USA as being no more informed than any other commentator or medic, helped change many minds. Increasingly large parts of the globe are slipping back to more normal times. But Southern Africa appears to be lagging quite badly. The two factors driving this could be the painfully slow vaccine roll out here in SA and the onset of winter, when flu-like infections flourish. Having scared the population into treating every cough and sniffle as unquestionable symptoms of a life-threatening disease, it is difficult to unwind that mindset. For some reason sports administrators and their charges have decided that they need also be responsible for managing spectators through the risks of infection. Until of course they board the bus home. Curious. The virus is losing its “hot topic” ranking in many parts of the developed world. It is so 2020! For example, the agenda for this weekend’s Group of Seven summit meeting has bumped “Green Finance”, whatever that might be, up to pole position. It seems that the world’s richest governments are under mounting pressure to help poor countries fight climate change and the term Green Finance is the code. Somehow South Africa has cracked the nod to attend – they are always keen participants when money is being handed out -- but have been allocated seats near the toilets. Also their iconic scarves in the colours of our flag are useful warning signs to avoid, else one will be handed a begging letter. As is common for these gatherings of the great and good they fear being confronted by disrespectful citizens and they choose venues that are easy to isolate from the hoi polloi. St Ives, once the home of a serial bigamist and cat lover, is perfect. The politicians are back tinkering with the school system in order to disguise that it doesn’t work, They have invented what they call the General Education Certificate (GEC) and to my mind it is merely the resurrection of the once popular Junior Certificate (JC). A holder of a GEC will be permitted (but not encouraged) to leave the school system. Who benefits the most from this gerrymandering is hard to tell. The kids will still be unemployable. Oh dear. All these bits of paper and still today many can’t read, let alone understand long division. Is there not a single encouraging policy or initiative announced by government that is not within days infested with methods and paths to siphon off the allocated funds never to be seen again util they reach the Range Rover showroom? Is it possible that the really good news about increasing the upper limit of allowable private power generation to 100MW (from the derisory 1MW) is corruption proof? Hold my beer and watch this I hear you cry. The scheme to berth specialist power generating ships in the harbours and hook them up to the grid fell at the first hurdle when a squabble about money exposed the deceits. Viewers who have little interest in watching soccer and lots of it, might need to visit the library soon. Cricket from the West Indies suffers from time of day issues and Rainbow Cup rugby is worryingly déjà vu. But we are about to sample a surfeit of sport as July approaches. So just borrow short books! James Greener Friday 11th June 2021