South Africa is having a tough time economically, socially and politically.

We have record unemployment rates, a weakening currency, petrol hikes and, of course, that pesky technical recession.

On top of all of that, our crime rates are being compared to those of a war zone.

A National Planning Commission report has revealed that South Africa is heading into a downward spiral, with declining investments and low tax revenue leading to even lower investments.

It’s pretty heavy reading for a Thursday. Hang in there, the weekend is within sight.

Here’s MyBroadband:

A report by the Centre for Risk Analysis painted an even bleaker picture, which said South Africa is now in the longest downward business cycle since 1945.

This, IRR [Institute of Race Relations] CEO Frans Cronje said, is extraordinary as other emerging markets are driving the global economy.

The difficulty here derives from the fact that our economic problems were created by corruption, poor leadership and government.

Under former President Jacob Zuma’s leadership, loyalty towards him and the willingness to further his personal objectives replaced competence and qualifications as the criteria for top positions.

Zuma allies, like Dudu Myeni and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, were given top positions at state-owned enterprises (SOEs),  SAA and SABC respectively, despite not having the experience or qualifications needed for the job. Both SAA and SABC are now facing severe financial problems.

Then there’s SARS and Tom Moyane, who has gutted the institute in a short matter of years, and overseen the hiring of people like Chief Officer for Digital Information Services and Technology, Mmamathe Makhekhe-Mokhuane.

The less said about her trainwreck interview yesterday, the better.

Current president Cyril Ramaphosa is attempting to undo the damage inflicted on institutions like Eskom, SAA, and the SABC, with new boards and new leadership teams.

Some South Africans have made the argument that Zuma’s poor decision-making stems from his lack of formal education, while others maintain that his qualifications were, simply put, that he was a man of the people.

Let’s take a look at the qualifications of South African presidents from 1994 to 2018:

Now let’s compare the qualifications of BRICS leaders. BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Qualifications under Zuma:

Qualifications under Ramaphosa:

Ramaphosa’s presidency has brought us back on a par with Russia and Brazil in terms of academic qualifications.

However, the mark of a good leader isn’t necessarily reflected in their formal education. Donald Trump holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics, and he’s a moron cum laude.

Let’s just hope Cyril Ramaphosa puts that degree to good use in his efforts to turn things around in the long run.

[source:mybroadband]