If you have ever had the misfortune of being in a car when the wheel nuts have not been tightened properly, you know that sickening feeling as the steering wheel starts to shake. If you don't slow down and pull over, it can have disastrous consequences. The decision by the national executive committee of the ANC last weekend to retain the services of President Jacob Zuma is a slow-motion car crash for the economy. It was as if the party, ignoring the shudder on the steering column, geared down into a hairpin bend and pushed the accelerator hard into the floor, oblivious of the consequences. History might show it was the tipping point for South Africa's investment grade, a time when investors finally lost faith in the will of politicians to self-correct.While not accepting blame for the recent spate of ratings downgrades through his sacking of Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas, the president did acknowledge in his budget vote this week that transforming the economy is harder when it i...
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