That most South Africans are barely numerate is probably just as well since those who have a slightly better understanding of numbers are in danger of losing their tenuous grip on scale. A few weeks ago the Ethekwini Metropolitan Council spent R500,000 on hiring carpets for the Maidens Festival. They were of a very poor condition and were delivered in the early hours of the morning on the night for which they were required. No action has been taken, but does anyone really understand how large a sum of money R500,000 is, especially in the context of what it was spent on? There is an investigation into Eskom’s profligate ways over a contract awarded to McKinsey and Trillian worth R1.6bn for six months’ "work". That’s R1,600,000,000, or R12,307,692 per eight-hour working day, five days a week for six months. What on earth could such an incredible sum have achieved by way of advice or guidance to justify such a staggering amount of taxpayers’ money? Perhaps it is time to start printing ...
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