Readers’Views

Persuading SA to buy electric vehicles needs spark of creativity

In SA, what is the main driver for owning a vehicle, and will this assumption remain valid considering that travel habits have changed and more companies are adopting remote working, “Switch on to EVs [electric vehicles] now — or lose out” (Newsmaker, March 14)?

There’s talk of self-driving cars being the new flavour — why isn’t SA setting up to manufacture and export these? A lot of refinement can be done on collision control before there’s a boom in demand.

What about the taxi industry? If public transport becomes very efficient in urban areas, could demand from rural areas sustain the EV market, and what would be the cost of an entry-level EV?

Forcing people to buy EVs might drive down the cost of internal combustion vehicles substantially, resulting in more people buying them; unless EVs are heavily subsidised and there’s a plan for the gradual phasing out of internal combustion vehicles.

Most importantly, I think eyecatching designs are a deal-breaker.

Asking people to part ways with their Skyline, BMW Dolphin or 1400 is a lot to ask. What about converting the classics to green-friendly alternatives to sell the idea?

Phuthela Myeni, on BusinessLIVE

Waking up to catastrophe

Hilary Joffe’s column, “Farming and mining — they’re not sexy, but they do sustain us” (March 14), refers.

Agriculture and mining — both hobbled by uncertainty relating to the government wanting to control them and poor power infrastructure. Agriculture via potential land expropriation and labour laws that encourage job reduction and mechanisation and care-andmaintenance-type investment.

Similarly, mining constrained by Mining Charter uncertainties, power constraints and murky policies towards facilitating exploration for new deposits, with current mining maximising resource extraction before licences expire and require renewal.

When will the government awake to its catastrophic policies?

Joe Sipho, on BusinessLIVE

Tito’s lonely row to hoe

In SA now we effectively have government-by-crisis and government-by-hoping-for-a-miracle.

It won’t be too long before the government becomes unable to pay public sector salaries reliably, and falls apart completely.

I’m sure [finance minister] Tito Mboweni understands the need for getting onto a sustainable fiscal path, but I think he knows he is practically alone in the government in that endeavour.