Thomas Johnson - The Blog

 There's been the expected fulsome (definition: excessively flattering), even obsequious commentary on former ANC finance and public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan's death. On CapeTalk former ANC MP and political commentator Melanie Verwoed gushed about his sharp intellect like he was Stephen Hawking.  Most commentary including in Daily Maverick is about him being a supposed corruption fighter nonpareil. Intelligent he may have been but the rest is overblown. Intelligent as a politician and office bearer he wasn't. Gordhan was part of the ANC's system of patronage, corruption and managerial neglect who contributed to SA being where it is. He personally may not have been the recipient of ill-gotten financial gains, but he was part of a system of state-wide corruption, the worst anywhere in the world, who allowed corruption to proceed unstopped. His mild, hesitant and too late resistance to singular acts of corruption in the Zuma government, for which he was then and...

South Africa's economy is in crisis. The problems are going to take more than a few empty words by the left's favourite pres, Ramaphosa. It's structural, partly a tolerated and condoned holdover from apartheid, including social aspects, and partly deliberate decisions by the ANC (ideology) and business that affect the economy.  Declining private expenditure and investment aka fixed capital formation are the end result of the underlying structure or nature of SA society that's proving impossible to change.  Crime, entrenched corruption, poor education, poverty and inequality, which indirectly impacts crime, are almost entirely the fault of the ANC government. They had a window to address the legacy of apartheid but through hubris, incompetence - often plain stupidity that defies reason - and venality they cocked it up.  ANC incompetence - I still don't understand how anyone who's doing the same job for 30 years has still not mastered it and continues to mess up -...

It's not only those with nefarious agendas who want to rewrite history. Seemingly sincere people do it too. For 30 years the ANC's story has been prominent: they defeated apartheid, Mandela was the Messiah and great provider, Mbeki the philosopher-king, Zuma the RET deliverer who would overturn WMC so black people could rise from poverty and subjugation. And last, Ramaphosa the reformer and corruption buster. All hail ramaphoria! Each leader had their acolytes and mythology. Zuma, after everyone thought he would retire, with the ANC and government's help formed the MK Party from disaffected members. Ramaphosa, in addition to being a suburb businessman, was the great negotiator and consensus-builder who would provide South Africa with investment, growth and jobs. When that failed to emerge during the first half of his presidency, the story changed to him having to bring like-minded ANC members on board.  Only during the last two years did the narrative unravel to reveal, to ...

Opinion among media commentators is the ANC, DA with IFP have done South Africans proud with the coalition, GNU as the ANC call it. Credit where it's due but survival - SA's - if the wrong choice was made, focused minds. But rather than Ramaphosa being the architect of the coalition who suddenly shook off years of dithering and wreckage to become the ace negotiator he purportedly is, the decision was made for him/ANC when MK and EFF presented their expected tempestuous demands. Had they not, they'd be the ANC's partners and not DA. And that would be that. But even now, the future's uncertain. After all that's happened there's still this odd perception Ramaphosa is a good leader, an ethical person, a good "negotiator". Perhaps his many admirers have Stockholm Syndrome.  The negotiator bit is based on 30-year-old ancient history. The NP gave in to all(?) ANC's demands because they had no choice - the game was over and they conceded to prevent dan...

Media, political and business commentators have greeted the grand coalition, or government of national unity (GNU) as the ANC calls it, with hope. Leftwing mainstream commentators are now reverting to their default ANC and Ramaphosa-centric positions after the last few years of pessimism and abandonment. Like the previous, original Ramaphoria (v1.0), they expect a lot from him and the GNU, his purported, exaggerated qualities advertised, his failures forgotten. One typical example of Ramaphoria v2.0 is Daily Maverick 168's editor Heather Robertson last week. She fulsomely wrote of citizens' paradoxical initiatives in Johannesburg and Durban, where municipal and goverment services have collapsed due to ANC incompetence, corruption and mismanagement, to remedy government duties as optimism.  It's one thing to volunteer - back in the day I was a volunteer in my community including police forum to help rectify the near collapse of the local police station's management; we l...

Frequently Ramaphosa-centric commentators in the mainstream media, ie those who are or were once but deep down still are Ramaphorias, state as fact he's this great consensus-builder and negotiator. They state so based on three-decade-old negotiations that led to 1994's elections. But otherwise they're unable to name significant instances of consensus or negotiated outcomes that Ramaphosa as president of the country was primarily responsible for.  Not examples of internal ANC deliberations, though, because they always agree what's good for the ANC. But even then, Ramaphosa is not as influential with the party's decision-makers as made out. He had to retract the trade cabinet portfolio offered to the DA, didn't he. And kept mediocre and corrupt ministers and a bloated cabinet to satisfy ANC rent-seekers when the national consensus, even among ANC-friendly commentators, is that it's not in SA's interest. So where is his supposed skill in this? Ramaphoria st...

 A government of national unity is used in extraordinary times, not when the incumbent party loses an election. Ramaphosa presented the county in crisis because the ANC lost the majority. But then the ANC has always conflated party and state. Mainstream media analysts credit Ramaphosa personally with the GNU, describing it as a masterstroke. Shaking off recent disappointment, their Ramaphoria is reborn. Ramaphoria 2.0. The supreme "negotiator" is back, they say. That the ANC's centre went into coalition with centre-right DA is due to his genius. It's irrelevant the EFF and MK made this possible with their predictably provocative demands. Had they not, the ANC's partners would have been them. So must we thank Ramaphosa's putative genius or EFF's and MK's stupidity for us not having ruinous coalition? Doesn't matter to the Ramaphorias.  From Ramaphosa's inauguration speech, the clamour project positive things for the GNU, though based on a coalit...

Ramaphosa signed NHI into law last week in a blatant election move. Immediately he and ANC said, in response to criticism and concerns, it would be incremental and could be changed. People prefer paying extortionate private healthcare fees rather than resist. But the problem is that in a supposed free market people are held to ransom by healthcare providers and don't have a choice. NHI will make things far, far worse, and the ANC will mess things up and steal as they always do (assuming they're still in power if and when it begins).  But private healthcare (PH) partly has themselves to blame for this situation. And they've brought the problem down on all of us with heavy handed state intervention.  NHI started with complaints of the costs of PH and that it was exclusionary - it absorbed a huge chunk of national health expenditure for a small percentage of the population. Statements now by NHI critics that SA's out-of-pocket health costs are among the lowest - 12th lowes...

Businessman and media owner Iqbal Surve's bank accounts were closed. He is a controversial figure and the butt of other media for his businesses practices and aggressive, narcissistic persona. He uses his media company, Independent Media, as his personal marketing department and to attack his critics and those who've crossed him. Independent Media does not have the best of reputations professionally - it pulled out of the Press Council because of its perceived unfairness but rejoined recently.  But it's Surve's ownership of investment company Sekunjalo that brought the most controversy. The Public Investment Corporation, the investment arm of the government pension fund, loaned Surve R5 billion with Sekunjalo as collateral. But the company was massively overvalued. Daily Maverick business editor Tim Cohen in reply to me yesterday about the matter: "Surve's big sin was that he convinced, how we don't know, the administrator of SA's state pensioners cash ...

The mainstream media is alarmed by the formation of the MK Party. It's composed of disaffected supporters. The alarm is exacerbated since Jacob Zuma has thrown his support behind it. The liberal-left blames Zuma and his supporters for SA's state: corruption death spiral, failing state and social and economic decline. While Zuma and those on his coat tails bear a huge responsibility, the entire ANC was and is responsible.  Daily Maverick asks how can Zuma's supporters still back him after what he's done to the country. They've demonized Zuma, and rightly so. But corruption has worsened under Ramaphosa. As president of the country and ANC he failed to act against those in his party, cadres and others complicit in state capture and failed to implement Zondo Commission recommendations. Members of his cabinet including himself (Phala Phala) who have credible allegations implicating them in corruption are sitting pretty. He was head of the cadre deployment committee, the ...

  South Africa welcomes criminals ! South Africa welcomes alternative entrepreneurs (known in SA as tenderpreneurs)! It has everything to offer the business person. And while you make deals, expand your business and pay off liaise with government officials, SA Police Service and National Prosecuting Authority who are only willing to help, you can take in some of world's best scenery and fine dining.  First, the Mother City, (crime) capital of the country where you should feel at home. After landing at Cape Town International Airport, judged among the world's best for luggage pilfering, for a small fee - Dubai account provided or cash in foreign currency (not local rand which is almost worthless) - you can have a police "blue light" VIP escort.  If you prefer to be incognito or drive yourself, Google Maps will lead you through black township Nyanga, where you will feel at home since it's has the city's worst crime rates. You might be stoned, stabbed, shot, hi...