The rand is doing some very heavy lifting and month-to-date it is more than 3% stronger against most major currencies. The IMF boss man was in town this week to finalise his ticket selection for the world cup and took a moment or two to warn us that adopting polices that might weaken the runt would be a bad idea. Just what those polices could be was not explained although there was a time when having clueless politicians chanting racist slogans would have been good for 15% off the price by lunchtime. Once upon a time those guys were so lethal that we had to create a dual currency.
In the meantime most share markets are going nowhere in particular. Sit tight and enjoy the dividend payment season. The imminent arrival of a decent sized coal mining company on the JSE boards is a welcome development.
It is puzzling that there has been such a fuss about the President forgetting to send in a list of his business interests, although the excuse that his lawyers had been trying to find out if the laws of the land actually applied to him was a bit alarming. Doesn’t the government already know everything about every one of us? Nearly every transaction or communication these days requires that you provide your ID number, your mother’s maiden name, where you live, and an eight character password (that must include at least two digits and upper and lower case letters). This week the cell phone company MTN complained that their profitability was impaired by the need to ask these questions of their customers. Those who didn’t know the answers had to be turned away. Presumably this information trickles through to some state information collector and even if they don’t know how to use it, I have no doubt that Google have already found a way to do so. So many people with something to sell now seem to have my email address and my phone number.
It is perhaps unfair and curmudgeonly to ridicule the efforts that are being made by government to ensure that the world cup will be a great success, but the sticky and grubby fingers of officialdom are appearing in places that would be best left to people who actually do that sort of thing for a living. For example the Department of Transport is only now looking for 1400 people to become drivers for a new bus service between cities during the event. In what may be an award winning understatement, the CEO of this proposed service has reported that “there was clear agreement that driver training was an important element in delivering a successful operation…” That is so comforting. No mention, however, of how all those well trained folk will actually get drivers licences in the 90 days until kick-off. It takes weeks just to get a learners appointment.
Sadly it turns out that the much promised police drive against crime is mostly about shuffling titles and designing new uniforms. Turning the Service into a Force will also not worry the bad guys very much. The harshest penalties are reserved for people who fail to remember that the erstwhile Commissioner is now to be addressed as General. And there is an extra helping of scrambled eggs on the peak of his cap.
As well as fretting about having to cut back on the allowances for the royal household, the kingdom has been pretty concerned with the matter of rugby referees this week. Us Lions fans have more than enough of our own woes, however, and today’s score line is just adding to them. And then the new F1 season is about to begin with all theses new names, teams and rules. I am pretty sad about the refuelling ban, as that added a wonderful strategic aspect to the race as well as the chance to see some flames occasionally.
James Greener
12th March 2010.
[There will be no Tidemarks for the next two weeks.]
