Readers’Views

Desperate times call for desperate measures as tipping point looms

Your headline “Anglo’s heart not in

SA, says Agarwal” (March 3) might apply to many enterprises whose hopes have been dashed by the reckless manner in which SA has been mismanaged over the past decade, and the unions’ irresponsible behaviour adds to the gloom.

Our sovereign debt nears 60% of GDP, making it impossible for Treasury to meet budget requirements, so expect the government to shelve most of its promised objectives. Eskom has loans totalling R450bn; SAA owes R100bn with little in the way of disposable assets or goodwill; Prasa is running on empty after having unaccountable expenditure of R500m; other SOEs are bankrupt and 263 municipalities are moribund; and the water boards have debtors owing billions. We are within reach of the tipping point.

In the 25 years of ANC government, economists calculate R1.5-trillion has been lost to corruption, half of that during the presidency of Jacob Zuma, whose administration helped the Guptas and others fleece the country of funds meant for service delivery.

The ANC romances with socialism and fails to realise the benefits of a free-market system. It has neglected to find common cause with the private sector, and foreign direct investment has slowed to a trickle. No wonder development has stalled.

Yet it asks for another opportunity to govern and will more than likely get voter support. It will then have no alternative but to approach the IMF for a bailout, which will come with stringent conditions.

There is no other option if we are to rebuild our manufacturing base, generate the economy and grow employment — desperate times demand desperate measures.

Ted O’Connor, Johannesburg

If SA was investor-friendly, you could be sure Anglo would be leading the charge. The reality is we are not. We are junk with an axe to grind.

Mr Kiepie, on businesslive

Perhaps the risk premium in SA has become too high? A clear policy stance from government and no more Zwanes running important portfolios could produce a quick result. Dermot Quinn, on businesslive

Vehicle licensing stalls

What is going on at the vehicle licensing departments? I’ve queued repeatedly without being able to get through the front door at the Edenvale branch. Many others from Bedfordview, Boksburg and Randburg joined the queue behind me as they couldn’t get into their departments either.

One guard recommended I return at 6am. The hours are from either 8.30am or 9am till 3pm, depending on the day of the week. I refuse to queue for eight or nine hours for anybody.

The excuse I heard on the first day was that the department was “offline”. Five minutes later, a woman emerged with her licence. I asked her if they were online. “Oh, they were never offline — they just tell people that.”

A friend recommended I book online. This turned out to be another nightmare as all suburbs in Johannesburg had “nil slots available”.

What’s causing this dreadful backlog? Inefficiency at its worst.

Judy Barnes, Johannesburg