Could it be a
harbinger of the bokke bringing home the World Cup? Most of the indicators like
currency and share (especially banks) and bond prices have strengthened a
little. Business confidence has gone the other way but maybe that’s because
companies suspect that productivity is going to plunge with kick-off times in working
hours. As others have remarked, it is astonishing just how unaffected the
markets are by what those of us who follow “social media” feel is a huge wave
of lawlessness swamping the country. The racist violent attacks on foreigners
who have swarmed into our country to fill niches and make a living where locals
can’t be bothered, is terrible. Dressing it up with a fancy word like
xenophobia is dishonest. However, it would be useful for all South Africans if
our borders were not so porous, while simultaneously the formal immigration
process was not so tardy and asinine.
This week the
court jester, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, popped up to remind us all just how badly our
government’s employment policies (aka “cadre deployment” or “jobs for pals”) can
go awry. While occupying the top floor, corner office at the national broadcaster,
this man was able simultaneously to talk drivel and waste money. Why the Zondo
commission thought it would be useful to have him come and testify is unclear. Indeed,
at one stage he demonstrated that he cannot distinguish between an invitation
to attend a breakfast and an appointment to a business school faculty. The SABC
may have set the record in the hotly contested competition for the swiftest destruction
of a state-owned enterprise.
It is
terrifying how virtually no one in the upper echelons of government seems to be
able to do sums and grasp just how bad the state finances are. Commendably
regularly the gnomes at National Treasury publish all kinds of fascinating statistics,
the simplest of which is a pair of numbers revealing how much money the state
collected and distributed in the past month. Inexorably income is falling and
spending is rising and so the gap between the two gets larger and larger. The silence
from those who we desperately need to do something about it grows louder. To be
fair, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has stepped away from his stove for a
moment and actually crafted a policy paper in which allegedly there are some good
ideas. It is, however, likely to slip into obscurity quite soon though, as he
offended all manner of constituencies by not first getting their approval. It
is also quite a long document so that’s another problem right there.
Those of us
who enjoyed the privileges of attending schools and colleges where teachers and
lecturers came to work every day, writing exams where the pass mark was a real
thing, finding and keeping a job, registering with the tax authorities, servicing
a mortgage, and paying for utilities are bemused by this story about Zuma and
his home. It could offer some fine entertainment with a punch-up between a king
and a bank. The key point is that Zuma probably does not have title to the land
on which his extensive family compound sits and which he allegedly used as
collateral when raising a mortgage with VBS bank. The bank, which was rather dysfunctional,
not to say wholly corrupted, in the period when this loan was being arranged will
likely need to approach the Zulu King Zwelithini. The monarch insists he alone
is the effective owner via a trust of which he is the sole trustee. Lawyers are
already licking their lips and paging through the Lamborghini catalogues.
Taxpayers are hiding their assets.
Rugby World
Cup fever is suddenly building rapidly. Last night I watched two talking heads
churn out more planet-threatening carbon dioxide than is safe, in discussing
Wales’ chances (Good – apparently). The bokke meanwhile are being praised for
getting to Japan early so they can get used to humidity and a slippery ball!
The map of Japan showing the venues is alongside the fixture list stuck on the
fridge door. And the upholsterer has been booked for a refurbishment of the
couch once this is all over.
James
Greener
Friday 13th
September 2019
