You have to feel for President Cyril Ramaphosa. At least, I do. Not only is he confronted with a retreat by international investors from emerging markets, a world turned upside down by President Donald Trump and steadily rising crude oil prices, political events at home are all but demolishing the hopes that greeted his victory at the ANC leadership conference and his subsequent election as head of state. For now, he seems trapped at every turn. After starting well with new boards at Eskom, South African Airways and Denel, even those victories now seem diminished. Eskom, drowning in debt, is about to agree to pay its bloated staff a pay rise of more than 7% after load-shedding triggered by a strike against an initial offer of 0%. Moody’s, the only major debt ratings agency not to have downgraded our sovereign debt to junk status, has just pointedly warned the government that it regards Eskom as a final test of the ANC leadership’s resolve to get the national debt under control. SAA,...

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