The President’s entourage for the state visit to Britain is reported to have numbered several hundred. It must have felt like Isandhlwana all over again in the Palace. No wonder the UK were nervous and rude. The pound fell to a four year low against the mighty rand as the throng unpacked their cases and sold beaded trinkets, wooden giraffes and Bafana Bafana shirts to the crowds along Whitehall. With so many bureaucrats away, the B-list had an opportunity to get into the local headlines. Minister Patel who was obviously miffed not to have been invited to go along, retaliated with a proposal to raid everyone’s pension fund to pay for his new empire. The department of health published an error ridden report confident that the people who could read were overseas and some other worthy was so shocked by what today is being passed off as art that she declined to open the show and left before the refreshments. This quite insignificant teacup storm triggered a froth of portentous drivel about freedom of expression and the dangers of ignoring the Constitution. This important document is under far worse threats than that posed by a sensitive lady shocked by a few arty pictures.
There was little in the way of a major theme or story in the markets beyond the Greeks complaining that the very nation that was being so mean to them now was the same one that stole their gold sixty years ago. Our biggest bank (Standard) revealed the rather poor results that it had warned us about but that seemed to excite the buyers who immediately leapt into the share. In fact the whole banking sector became quite skittish. Old buddies in the steel business who went their separate ways a few years ago had a very public squabble which smacked the ArcelorMittal price quite badly.
While not necessarily yet plunging further into full-blooded nationalisation, our undoubtedly socialist inclined government is not averse to increasing their control over every area of business. This development imposes uniformity and equality but contrasts with their present very keen and assiduous ferreting out of any whiff of cartel or collusive behaviour. It is often asked how there can be just one competition commission and one government. The latest culprits are alleged to be bitumen suppliers and poor old Sasol is being hunted again. The only ray of light in the incident is that if the price of the stuff now falls after this investigation, perhaps we will see some potholes being repaired. But did anyone notice the bread price fall after that last swathe of fines on the bakers?
Instead of fining a local tax evader and demanding cash, SARS this week drove away in three of the culprit’s luxury cars in lieu. The delinquent taxpayer was unfazed and reportedly declared that there were plenty more cars in his garage. I don’t think the tax man has done the right thing there. He is now a seller of some exotic wheels and any shortfall between the tax owed and the sale proceeds will presumably just need to be written off. Perhaps, however, there is no plan to sell them and the President will soon appear in a Rolls Royce with Durban plates. One of the wives might score a Lamborghini.
The arrival of Bafana Bafana to play a match in the new stadium one night this week provided one useful preview of what June may bring. This was the extreme reaction of the Durban traffic authorities to international soccer. More than three hours before the game kicked off at 8:30pm in front of a crowd no larger than often turns up at Kings Park alongside, the city became gridlocked. Traffic cops infested every intersection within miles of the stadium and either closed it off, or more lethally, formed random teams of hand-waving uniforms out of sync with the operating traffic lights. I wonder what time the poor fans got home after suffering the equally poor soccer. Or had the cops knocked off by then?
James Greener
5th March 2010.
