The bad news is there’s no good news in the month of joy

There is good news and bad news as we head into what should be one of the happiest times of the year.

South Africans are naturally more used to bad news, so we’ll kick off with that.

The bad news is: in December 2019, there is no good news.

If only that were a joke…

Yesterday’s announcement that Eskom had again plunged off the cliff into the heart of darkness – with Stage 4 load shedding – showed clearly that the power utility is imploding.

Apart from that, though, SA Airways has just sucked up another R2 billion of taxpayers’ cash; cricket is committing marketing suicide; our municipal politics is chaotic; our commuter trains are burning; our Road Accident Fund is in a R17 billion hole; thousands of people are being slaughtered on our roads; our cellphone data charges are the highest in Africa; the Guptas still haven’t been extradited from Dubai; unemployment (officially) sits at 29%; our economy is contracting and the rand is taking a pounding.

While it may not easy to be jolly in the season for it, we expect many South Africans will continue to do what they do best: drown their sorrows.

Which is good news if you own a bottle store.

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