Are we all food in a feeding frenzy?

SINCE this is now topical I thought to query a few issues that I feel are pertinent. The horrific decline in the value of the rand since 1994 could not be attributed to one cause only. There must have been strong outside and inside financial institutions, probably among others, via the Forex markets, undermining our currency for purely profit motives.

I do understand that a lower rand seems to make exports more attractive, but ultimately it is self defeating, especially if we are importing more than we export. As it is, we are exporting our raw materials without the value added factor which was one of the election promises when the ANC proposed their manifesto in 1994.

We are paying dollar prices for our banking facilities, if all card transactions are related to licensing factors via Silicone Valley. How can a bank justify R8.50 for interbank ATM transactions, R5.50 for same bank transactions, but only charge R1.50 if drawing from a supermarket. Surely the rentals and servicing of ATMs cannot be this prohibitively expensive because I can see no other reasonable reason.

However regarded, if there is a licensing cost, the mere fact that supermarket drawing is at least R4 cheaper than an ATM transaction, what can the rand cost of licensing equate to?

Monsters

I feel absolutely no guilt in expressing that the South African banks are and will continue to be monsters feeding off the poor to the tune of millions and millions of rands every single day. Try this in any other country! Why are they allowed to get away with this?

Of course, on top of this is the monthly banking cost to merely have an account. No wonder the South African banks were well placed to weather the storms of the “Credit Crises” of 2007/8.

This is also probably one of the reasons that Capitec is procuring approximately 100 000 clients per month. I wonder who is losing where Capitec is gaining. Surely the people base is not expanding by 100 000 people per month?

This brings me to the issue of the cost of communication by cell phone – let’s leave the other devices alone for now. Our call costs are ridiculous and contrary to the idea of “easy connectivity”. Surely “easy” should have a cost implication that is fair and attainable to all. How come our data costs are more than 100 times higher than in India?

This of course then begs the question of how to rectify these two issues? They do need urgent rectification.

All corporate bodies are compelled to increase their profits and grow annually to ensure the continued support of their shareholders/market position/credibility, etc, etc, etc.

If fair adjustments to costs of banking and phone calls were to be insisted and acted upon these monster companies would have to take a knock on the very foundations of their organisations and knocking all their dependents, ie Sars, etc, along the way, too.

I don’t think businesses work this way and this illness needs curing if we are to be taken seriously as consumers to be valued and treated with any form of respect.

I think we are regarded as food in a feeding frenzy and it is time we rejected this attitude with the strength of the “#FeesMustFall” energy because this nonsense has been carrying on for too long and at too high a cost in an unjust and irresponsible manner.