We bears are quite certain that the financial crisis is not yet over
and that the various pieces of good data may be misleading. Certainly the US
bond yields have fallen back to 2% and the midweek equity market flight is
being reeled back in. But Europe is really
still in a dreadful mess with many governments being unable to admit that all
the disbursements and subsidised services that their citizens have come to
expect can frankly no longer be sustained at current levels. Here at home the
stories and evidence of the plight of the small enterprise is growing. Whether
it is the demolition of manufacturing capacity by cheap imports or the
government’s misguided attempt to control everything, turnover and conventional
productive employment are under threat. And don’t even mention profits.
The state is currently spending R2.4bn a day, but far too much of
that seems to “leak” straight into personal consumption without the government
obtaining any services for the payments. It is further worrying that R0.4bn of
this daily expenditure is borrowed money. These are shaky foundations on which
to build a recovery
One can understand but not condone a government’s desire to keep
certain information to itself. Like who has stolen what or which promises have
not been kept or how many submarines are “out of order” or how many hours the
president spent actually presiding. But how can cement sales be considered so
sensitive that their release must be delayed by 3 months? Reportedly this has
something to do with preventing collusion and promoting competition, but I
doubt that would stand up to analysis. Just wait until the commission
responsible for this idiocy hears that the JSE insists that companies reveal
their accounts within 3 months to everyone including their competitors.
Shocking.
So SANRAL’s campaign for everyone to have one of those electronic
e-tags in their car is really born of their concern for your safety. It is not
just that it gives them looting rights on your bank account but if you become
unwell or suffer a car breakdown on the tolled road they maintain that the tag
will enable them to dispatch help swiftly. Does this mean that the motorist
without an e-tag who has paid the full undiscounted toll will be ignored if
they get into trouble?
Here in the kingdom, preparations are underway at the Royal Natal
Yacht Club for suitable celebrations of the other monarch’s 60th jubilee
celebrations. They have wheeled out a number of cannons of varying sizes (some
are titchy) and tested them for their boom potential. A 21-gun salute to Queen
Elizabeth is planned for June. Undoubtedly this attention-getting ceremony will
have caught the attention of those who already feel the need of a blue-light
convoy to signal their importance. Expect more bangs.
Newspaper owners must be grateful that this urge for self-promotion
remains so strong amongst our politicians and bureaucrats. No matter what the
track record might indicate no event or milestone is thought too trivial or
embarrassing not to be announced with at least a quarter-page full-colour spread
in the press. The latest is published by something mystifyingly called The
Department of Human, (sic) and announces awards to honour the role players in
the housing value chain. This notice appeared on a public holiday just 24 hours
before nominations for the accolades closed, so it is obviously restricted to
insiders and not intended to recognise and reward those chains of skilful brick
throwers at building sites who appear effortlessly to toss bricks from one floor
to another.
Sadly the fifth annual games for members of the Non-Aligned Teachers
Unions of Southern Africa received little publicity until the participants
failed to pitch up in their classrooms after the weekend of sports. It seems
that the journey back from the Windhoek
venue was exhausting. Hopefully
organisers of the games for the Aligned Unions will have taken note of this
problem and will select somewhere more central. The country really can’t afford
exhausted educators.
James Greener
Friday 13th April 2012
