Well, Richard, I think we can sum that up in a single word.

Zero.

This year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos was dominated by the Donald Trump / Greta Thunberg showdown (one, a petulant child who is hungry for attention, and the other a teenage girl looking to kickstart meaningful change).

South Africa did send a delegation, who sought to encourage the world that all is well on the home front and they should invest their money, but not everyone was buying it.

CNN’s Richard Quest (you’ll recognise his voice, but did you know about his 2008 arrest? You really must read this) had a chat with local radio personality Bruce Whitfield, host of ‘The Money Show’, and he didn’t mince his words.

Here’s the part of the interview that really has South Africans talking:

If you can’t be bothered to listen, Cape Talk has a few of the most damning quotes:

Brand South Africa has tried to put scarves around my neck… But it hasn’t got the same profile as in previous years… There’s no point in coming here to say ‘invest in me’ if you don’t have the policies worthy of it…

We’ve discovered just how awful State Capture at state-owned enterprises was… You tell me how anybody who has come here for the past five or 10 years saying, ‘South Africa is going really well’, suddenly turns around and says, ‘Well, actually, the entire economy was hijacked… and we’re not even sure we’ve dealt with it’… How many people have gone to prison so far?

That last one really hits home. Every day, the State Capture inquiry rolls on, and more damning evidence comes to light, but nobody ends up behind bars.

Reputations might be tarnished, yes, but pockets have been stuffed full of cash and the morally bereft never really feel a sense of shame, do they?

After all, the ANC will just shuffle the deck and redeploy them elsewhere in public ‘service’.

Back to Quest:

Of course, I’ve flown SAA! It’s an excellent airline! [But] The amount of money that the South African government has to put into it is staggering! Unless there’s a proper restructuring – with government’s hands-off – you’ve got to ask, ‘Why not just shut it down?’… For South African Airlines to become profitable is going to require the most drastic restructuring, and even then, it might not. It’s worth having a go, but I’m telling you the government can’t keep its hands off it!

South Africa’s government has minuscule credibility following the Zuma years and the capture of state-owned enterprises… The potential in South Africa is enormous! But you [referring to President Cyril Ramaphosa] cannot turn around and say… ‘I saw nothing and heard nothing!’”

It’s safe to say Richard isn’t on board the Ramaphoria train, then.

I’m reminded of this Zapiro cartoon from last year:

Maybe 2019 is the year that heads roll, and those who sold South Africa’s soul are held accountable.

We can dream…

[source:capetalk]