The term "technical recession" is laughable. There is nothing technical about it. We are in the poo now and it is better that the government accepts it and says so, rather than gloss over it and make people feel comfortable. Deputy President David Mabuza said: "I don’t agree we are in a technical recession as we are looking at it only from quarter to quarter and not a full year." However, the sooner they accept it and start planning to counteract its effects, the better, as the third quarter is almost over and the results are going to be another negative. Then we will have three quarters in a row and they will have to call it what it is: a full-blown recession. At the beginning of October there will be another increase in the petrol price of over R1/l due to the rand’s roller coaster swings — it has lost over 20% against the dollar this year. The rest of the world is growing at about 4% and some of our African peers grow at a rate of 6% or more. JM Bouvier Bryanston
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