It was laughable to read Trudi Makhaya, the president’s economic adviser, saying the major economies were "very enthusiastic about SA during the G-7 meeting", especially coming during a week when there were so many negatives. These ranged from a 2.2% contraction in GDP for the first quarter — the largest since 2009 — to agriculture dropping a whopping 24.2%, the worst since 2006, mining contracting by 9,9%, our exports dropping 16.5%, our currency on the ropes and both business and manufacturing confidence receiving further blows. And then there are all the other ills of corruption, unemployment, crime, strikes and so on. But what do you expect with the VAT rate increase, the petrol price going up every month, the charter that devastated the mining industry, a land expropriation bill that will turn our economy on its head and the latest warnings from the IMF about policy uncertainty. What worries me even more is that the world economy is showing signs of slowing down, and the idioti...
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