A slew of different
economic statistics for various periods in the recent past don’t signal that
economic growth is about to sweep us all forwards and upwards anytime soon. The
only increases are in the numbers of people who depend on the taxpayer’s money
for their salary, grant or stipend. The thousands of private businesses who
together with their employees are the payers of most of that tax, battle at
this time of the year when working hours are impacted by the sequence of shortened
working weeks that our calendar serves up. This year it’s exacerbated by the election
day holiday.
As an aid to those
managers who have set aside the Easter weekend for crafting a message to
shareholders, Tidemarks offers the following useful paragraph used to great
effect by the CEO of a company in which the PIC has recently increased its
shareholding.
“We know the road ahead isn’t going to be
easy, given the amount of work to be done around entrenching sound business practices
and critical (…….[1])
basics within the company. We’re constantly challenging ourselves to find the
best solutions to move (…….[2])
forward and remain firmly committed to turning the ship around despite the
economic environment being unsupportive and weak industry fundamentals.”
Plenty for
them to mull over there. And perhaps better than the bold “Surprises at Eskom are over” from Phakamani Hadebe,
the CEO. One would think that the message
to keep one’s head down and mouth shut would by now be carved into the large
mahogany desk in the corner office at Megawatt Park. Or just scrawled in
lipstick on the mirror in the en-suite bathroom. There are just so many
skeletons in so many cupboards in that business that surprises are never over. What
about the company’s debt book? A huge concern both for Eskom and the whole
nation’s credit rating.
Now its our
turn to be surprised by President Cyril who has been listed by Time Magazine as
one of the worlds top 100 influential leaders. Wow. That’s a big call for a
chap who seems to be dancing on eggs trying not to offend the powerful
panjandrums in his own party. Affable and likeable certainly but its hard to
recall anything influential Cyril has done since inauguration. Like discarding the
many crooks and incompetents from his cabinet. What influence has he wielded to
shift SA from its Bloomberg ranking as the world’s 3rd most miserable
economy?
We have remarked
before about the pleasant-sounding name Sagamartha for a company that wanted to
list on the JSE but failed to pass some or other trivial accounting condition. According to its founder and fervent champion Dr
Iqbal Surv
, this was because South
African investors totally failed to grasp the opportunities offered by a
loss-making company that is very highly valued (mainly by himself it should be said).
Now he is off to try and list it elsewhere, so clearly there is a pressing need
for some cash inflow into his stable of interests which most of us prefer to
watch from afar.
, this was because South
African investors totally failed to grasp the opportunities offered by a
loss-making company that is very highly valued (mainly by himself it should be said).
Now he is off to try and list it elsewhere, so clearly there is a pressing need
for some cash inflow into his stable of interests which most of us prefer to
watch from afar.
The joke that
a fan who called about the availability of places at Kings Park for the Sharks
match against the Reds did the rounds this week. The punch line is that the pleasant
young lady on the switch board assured the caller that there were plenty
available and in which position would the caller like to play! Utterly unpredictable
is the only pertinent phrase to describe the performance of the SA teams this year.
Charges of nepotism, racism and financial mismanagement all have validity in
trying to unscramble the mess. And this scribe is not about to try, beyond repeating
my age-old cry that the state has no part to play in sport of any kind and that
the ministry must be closed immediately.
Already the
traffic flows are building for this long weekend and any number of worthies
with the word transport in their title are boast warning about “round the clock
policing” and “pulling out the stops” to ensure safety on the roads. We all
hope they are successful. Please take care of yourselves.
James Greener
Maundy Thursday
2019
