SA wakes up from fairytale

It all came down crashing last Wednesday.

The miraculous transition from apartheid to democracy, the fairytale of the rainbow nation, the prosperous economy and the collective but misplaced arrogance that South Africa would not follow the route that most African countries took after independence – all wiped away within two days as the world showed us that we are not of a special breed after all.

In just a few hours after President Jacob Zuma had kicked Nhlanhla Nene out of his cabinet and replaced him with one named David van Rooyen, the financial markets unleashed havoc yet unseen: the banking index dived more than 13 percent; the rand plummeted to a record low of R16.05 to the dollar and traders offloaded shares in international companies that have exposure to South Africa.

We had seen the sign of things to come.

The condescending treatment of chapter 9 institutions and the judiciary, the appointment of ministers like Faith Muthambi who have no clue on what to do and the fattening of the public service by party loyalists all point to one direction: the wheels have come off.

Forget about all the lipstick and the spin that the government tried to put on Nene’s unceremonious dismissal from his position.

That it took the Presidency nearly two days to explain that Nene was being eyed for a position in the Brics bank shows just how the gamble backfired. Even if this was the case: how do you fire your finance minister for another job that he has not even secured?

We learnt from the Presidency, that Nene was merely a nominee to head the local branch of the Brics bank.

By now, it is clear that the chain of events just smirks of something more sinister. This is where the spin doctors fail.

In the eyes of ordinary South Africans, Nene was a semblance of sanity in country that is fast falling off the cliff.

Fiscal discipline

He kept all of us in check and told us difficult truths such as that the government had no money and therefore spending had to be cut.

He also chastised municipalities that believed that public coffers were there for their taking, extending bailouts to those in dire straits but threatening to cut out those who refused to pay for services such as electricity.

In a way, he was like a school master who was well understood by his pupils but was not scared to demand discipline from those who he felt had veered off the accounting disciplines.

Nene’s biggest mistake perhaps was to stand up against powerful people and tell them that state coffers were not bottomless and that if they wanted him to sign off on something, they needed to justify their demands.

He also had the guts to tell the unions that the wage bill was too high and could not be sustainable in the medium to long term and therefore wage demands had to be reasonable.

So while to right-thinking South Africans Nene sounded like a reasonable man, others viewed him as a bully and a stumbling block to personal enrichment.

Is it therefore fair to look at Van Rooyen through – in the ANC parlance – the eye of the needle.

Does he have what it takes to put the interest of the country first? I am afraid the temptation to doubt his abilities is too irresistible, especially since his face is a big unknown.

His tenure as a mayor of a small municipality called Merion does very little to inspire confidence.

In 2009, Van Rooyen resigned from his position in haste after residents of Khutsong refused to buy into his vision to move their township away from Gauteng into North West.

He presided over the controversial and fiery demarcation debacle after Merafong, of which Khutsong is part, was incorporated into North West from Gauteng, a decision that was later rescinded.

While Khutsong residents always saw themselves as part of Gauteng and believed that their toil had helped Johannesburg and the province to prosper, Van Rooyen saw no wisdom in their thinking and tried to bulldoze them into accepting his thinking.

The results were catastrophic: his home and those of other councillors were burnt down and he was forced to flee the township only to emerge as a backbencher in the national assembly.

His judgement and calculation of the situation was therefore out of touch.

Let me state at the outset that I have nothing against Van Rooyen.

By all accounts he seems like an affable and a hard-working cadre.

But if his legacy is anything to go by, his error of judgement should leave most people worried as he has now being plucked out of obscurity to preside over a R1.38 trillion budget.

He also has to tell the markets and investors that our fiscus is in good hands.

Foreign investors have already taken a dim view on our prospects as a stable democracy.

Nene was by no means a saint but his biggest weapon was his pragmatic take on the intricate world of fiscal discipline.

And if Van Rooyen’s pragmatism is to be measured on his tenure as a small-town mayor, we are left wondering what would become of South Africa’s standing in the eyes of investors.

Moreover, his controversial appointment will only serve to embolden mavericks such as Jonathan Moyo and lunatics like Afriforum, who are already saying “we told you so”.

As a faithful servant of the state and a loyal cadre of the movement, Van Rooyen should speak out against what is obviously a set up.

He should heed former cabinet minister Barbara Hogan who last week publicly spoke out on the latest developments.

“We need to have conversations with ourselves,” Hogan said. “I’m talking about values here.”

Van Rooyen should therefore be bold enough to say his skills can be better utilised elsewhere and that people such as Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas should take the lead and give assurance to the markets.

Failure to do so will result in history judging him harshly for failing not once but twice to take South Africa and its electorate into his confidence.

BUSINESS REPORT