I find it ironic that once a year the President makes a State of the Nation address, which is followed by the State of the Province and the State of the City addresses.
After all, in this country, the state of things are constantly fluctuating. One day things are looking great, and the next it has gone to the dogs. It is like our weather these days … four seasons in one day.
What can you say about the state of the province in the North West for example? How about a state of complete anarchy, which has caused the President to call for government intervention.
Generally, the state of this nation and the state of this metro and the state of Boksburg does not inspire much confidence.
It actually looks rather bleak. Economist Dawie Roodt put it beautifully when deemed SA’s future outlook as ‘going nowhere slowly’ when addressing a meeting in Boksburg recently.
Maybe that is not even entirely correct. Maybe it is more a case of going backward fast.
It is winter time, so guess what? Yes, power outages. And there has been plenty so far in Boksburg. Some are wondering if this is load-shedding.
To put it bluntly, a lot of infrastructures are outdated, and yes, the grid in winter time becomes overloaded. This is the state of our electricity supply in this country and in this metro. And then cable theft only exacerbate the situation.
We can expect a lot more of these outages until the days become warmer, mark my words.
Talking about the state of things, have you heard that the South African working-age population has increased by 153 000 in the first quarter of 2018?
The rise in both employment (up by 206 000) and unemployment (up by 100 000) has led to the rise in the labour force participation rate now standing at 59.3 per cent.
Youth unemployment is still high in South Africa, even though the unemployment rate (26.7 per cent) has remained unchanged over the first quarter of 2018.
So yes, things are not looking too great since SA’s economic growth forecast sits around (hopefully) two per cent which is also nothing to get excited about.
According to Roodt, it should be five per cent, which is about as optimistic as the Stormers winning the Rugby Championships.
It should also be mentioned that SA’s daunting outlook is based on what is happening overseas, especially with America pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, and the ensuring trade war between the USA and China. The tension between America and North Korea has also escalated.
A hefty spike in brent crude oil has been a result of all the political upheavals, and for this reason, coupled with the dollar strengthening against the rand, we are faced with nightmare fuel prices. And yes, another hefty fuel price is predicted for June.
Such is the state of things – power outages, unemployment, continuous rise in the cost of living and paying too much tax.
All of this negativity is impacting businesses across the country, and you see it happening right here in Boksburg.
Talking about unemployment, SA could even face greater job losses as relations between America and SA are likely to worsen.
After all, America is increasingly taking a hard stance against those countries who are unwilling to tow the US line. SA is one of the least supportive countries (a point of fact is the recall of the country’s ambassador to Israel and Ramaphosa’s disappointment at Trump’s withdrawal from Barack Obama’s nuclear deal).
These are indeed precarious times, which affect all citizens of this country, no matter your education or wealth or status.
It is times of great political and economic uncertainty. Continuing tensions globally and the apparent leftist ideology shifts within the ANC also could result in SA drawing closer to BRICS for trade and further away from America.
And then we sit with rising tension among workers, factionalism within the ruling party and an opposition imploding.
So watch this space, for 2018 is going to become very interesting. In the meanwhile, stock up on candles, and pray that the constant spike in fuel prices will not kill off SA’s economy.
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