HILARY Joffe writes that a downgrade is a particularly "miserable prospect" for the banks (A country downgrade would be utter misery for all, March 16). You don’t say.
A downgrade was probable even before Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan took his roadshow to London and New York because the state of the nation address and the budget had failed to address structural economic weaknesses. The plans Christo Wiese, Colin Coleman and Cas Coovadia outlined in their Sunday Times op-ed (SA has three months to save itself, March 13) are unlikely to be implemented in 10 years, never mind three months. Get real.
A downgrade is likely now that Mr Gordhan is under threat from the Hawks and elements in the African National Congress (ANC), who probably want the country to be a wreck so they could capture the spoils at a fire-sale.
What has become of the good intentions the government and business spoke about after Mr Gordhan’s reappointment in December? Where are the high-powered business delegations to the ANC and the government to warn and pressure them to change? As usual, the pusillanimous business leaders, particularly bankers, are publicly concerned about peripheral matters, such as racism, alleged white racists in their employ and anti-racism campaigns.
They are hunkering down in their bunkers; many, no doubt, moving their personal portfolios overseas to escape the inevitable sale of South African assets after a downgrade.
Thomas Johnson
Cape Town
Picture: REUTERS
HILARY Joffe writes that a downgrade is a particularly "miserable prospect" for the banks (A country downgrade would be utter misery for all, March 16). You don’t say.
A downgrade was probable even before Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan took his roadshow to London and New York because the state of the nation address and the budget had failed to address structural economic weaknesses. The plans Christo Wiese, Colin Coleman and Cas Coovadia outlined in their Sunday Times op-ed (SA has three months to save itself, March 13) are unlikely to be implemented in 10 years, never mind three months. Get real.
A downgrade is likely now that Mr Gordhan is under threat from the Hawks and elements in the African National Congress (ANC), who probably want the country to be a wreck so they could capture the spoils at a fire-sale.
What has become of the good intentions the government and business spoke about after Mr Gordhan’s reappointment in December? Where are the high-powered business delegations to the ANC and the government to warn and pressure them to change? As usual, the pusillanimous business leaders, particularly bankers, are publicly concerned about peripheral matters, such as racism, alleged white racists in their employ and anti-racism campaigns.
They are hunkering down in their bunkers; many, no doubt, moving their personal portfolios overseas to escape the inevitable sale of South African assets after a downgrade.
Thomas Johnson
Cape Town
