IMFteamto updateviewon SAprospects
TheIMFwillbesendinga teamtoSAnextmonthto doacomprehensive assessmentoftheeconomy thatcouldseeitimproveits viewofSA smedium-term growthandpublicdebt trajectories.TheIMFhas tendedtobemore pessimisticontheoutlook thanthegovernmentand manyinthemarket.The IMFthisyeardidnot conductitsusualArticleIV assessmentofSAbecause oftheelections hence themissionheadingtothe countrynextmonth. /Page2
Ukrainewaiverin searchofpeace
• Economiccommitteeheadwants morefocusonresponsiblespending
SAandUkrainearetosigna visawaiveragreementfor diplomatsandgovernment officialstoeasetravel logisticsforSAofficials beforeKyiv ssecondpeace formulameetingsin November.International relations&co-operation ministerRonaldLamolaisto meethisUkrainian counterpart,AndriiSybiha, onMonday. /Page3
ThandoMaeko PoliticalReporter
Lawcutscosts forPGM minersinUS
l In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
TheANC stopbrasshascome outagainsttheintroductionofa fiscalanchorproposedbythe NationalTreasuryatthesuggestionoftheIMFandintendedto provideasustainablelong-term pathforpublicfinances. Theheadoftheparty nomictransformationcommittee,MmamolokoKubayi,saidon thesidelinesoftheANC nationalexecutivecommittee (NEC)meetingattheweekend thatthepartywouldpreferthe focustobeshiftedtoresponsible spendingthatdoesnotcompromiseservicedeliveryinsteadof placingacaponrisingdebt.
havingaroundservicingofthe debtisbecauseoureconomyis notgrowingwell,tothepercentagethatwewant,and thereforewearenotgenerating enoughrevenue.”
Business Day understands talks within the GNU as Business Unity SA are ongoing
TheIMFhasurgedSAtolegislateadebtceilingtoreduceits stockofdebt.Accordingto
SunInternationalandthecommissionwillmaketheircases. Shouldthedealgoahead,theSA casinosectorwillbedominated bytwoJSE-listedcompanies, SunInternationalandTsogoSun, worthaltogetherR24bn.
ArecentamendmenttoUS miningregulationsissetto bringdowncostsfor platinumgroupmetals (PGM)minersoperatingin thecountry,saysSibanyeStillwater.OnFriday, Sibanyehighlighted changestotheUS treasury sInflation ReductionAct(IRA),which grantsa10%production creditforgoodsthatuse criticalminerals.Since 2023,however,thecosts thatcompaniescanreceive creditforhaveexcluded extractioncosts. /Page9
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
TFGbuywillboost criticalmass
TheTreasuryannouncedin theFebruarybudgetthatitwas workingonafiscalanchorand thatinthemeantimethe achievementofaprimarybud getsurplus(whenrevenue exceedsnon-interestgovernmentexpenditure)wouldserve asone. Fiscalanchor bindingconstraintonfiscal policy,whichwouldrequirethe Treasurytoadoptaspecific policyapproach.
ing fiscalbuffers ,which usuallyinvolvedraisingtaxesor cuttingspendingorboth,the IMFsaid.Delayingaction will maketherequiredadjustment evenlarger”
Thecommissionsaidina statementonSundaythatthe proposedtie-up,announceda substantially lessenmarketcompetition,particularlyincentralGauteng. The mergersignificantlychangesthe
structureof thenationalmarket byreducingthenumberof nationalcasinooperatorsfrom threetotwo. “Postmerger,92%ofthe casinosoperatinginSAwould beownedbyonlytwofirms, furtherincreasingconcentration inanalreadyhighlyconcentratedmarket.Newentryintothis marketisunlikelyduetothe limitedavailabilityofcasino licences.IncentralGauteng,in particular,therearenounallo-
catedcasinolicences.Inaddi tion,themergerwillresultin SunInternationalowningand operatinganumberofcasinos locatedinprimelocations, whichwillgive[it]asignificant competitiveadvantageoverits competitors.
IncentralGauteng,the mergerwillreducethenumber ofcasinooperatorsfromthreeto twoandwillremoveEmperors
KabeloKhumalo CompaniesEditor
gunsinoppositiontotheproposeddeal,andarekeentoput forwardacounterproposal.
Thesevenunionshavetold Saruthatanycounterproposal theycomeupwithwillnotpay heftycommissions.
resentingabouthalfofthevote.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
RetailgroupTFGhas acquiredUKfashionand lifestyleretailerWhiteStuff foranundisclosedsumina movethatitsayswillhelpit reachcriticalmassthere.In anotetoinvestorson Friday,TFGsaidthedeal wasconcludedthroughits TFGLondonbusiness,and wouldbefundedfrom existingbankingfacilitiesof theUKbusiness. Establishedin1985,White Stuffspecialisesin unique, thoughtfullydesigned clothingandaccessoriesfor women,menandchildren /Page10
purpose the reduction of the number of SRD grant recipients in order to remain In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury
BALANCE We vealwayscalledforabalancebetweenfiscalpolicythat wouldensurethatwedon’thave debtthatisrunningahead, Kubayisaid. Wemustimprove thequalityofspending...so wheregrowthiscomingis wherewemustchannelour money,inthoseareas.
Wedon tthinkjustcapping isresponsible...theissueforus isthegrowthoureconomy... Theconversationthatweare
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example.
When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low them to present new information — the system just runs the same check again, with the same information.
Curbingspendingwillbea difficulttaskfortheANC-led governmentofnationalunity (GNU)amidcallsforincreased spending,includingextending theR350monthlywelfaregrant thatwasintroducedin2020. TheTreasuryisalsounderpressuretousethisweek smediumtermbudgetpolicystatementto
The chair was at times aware that the future of Wilgenhof was a painfully controversial issue
Johann Kriegler Wilgenhof residence report
and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
Anexclusivityclauseentered intobetweentheSARugby Union(Saru)andthesuitorforits commercialrights,Ackerley SportsGroup(ASG) and especiallythecommissionsthat wouldflowfromtheproposed deal willbeastickingpoint whentheprivateequityfirm meetsdissentingunionsahead ofavoteonthedealin December.
scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
However,anapparentexclusivityclause,thedurationof whichhasnotbeenrevealedto them,isfrustratingthisinitiative.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
BusinessDayunderstands thatthedissentingunions, includingtheBlueBulls,Sharks andBoland,willsticktotheir
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example.
The IEJ and #PayTheGrants say the department of social development had “op en ly acknowledged that these barriers have as their
‘No proof of City Power payment’
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly
‘No proof of City Power payment’
There
By KABELO KHUMALO Companies Editor
Thecommissionscontained inASG’sproposalisoneofthe reasonsthattheunionsare pushinghardagainstthedeal, particularlytheproposedfee structureof10%netoftransactioncosts about$7.5m(R1 31m) thatwouldbepayableto Jordan&Associates,anentity thatiscontrolledbyformer FormulaOneteambossEddie Jordan.
When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low them to present new information.
ASGneedstowinoverseveralofthedissentingunionsto getthedealoverthefinishline, butoneoftheunionbosseswho spoketoBusinessDaysaidthat ASG sovertureswouldcometo naughtaspositionsagainstthe mooteddealhavehardened.
estimated 18.3-million people
18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it. But the Treasury warns that the court orders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”. Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. Continues on page 4
ASGindicatedonFridaythat itwouldmeetthesevendissentingunionsinabidtogettheir buy-in.
Thedealwouldneed75%of theunionstovoteinitsfavour, withthedissentingunionsrep-
ThedealwouldseeUSbasedASGbuya20%stakein theyet-to-be-constitutedcompanythatwouldhouseSA Rugby’scommercialrights,Saru Commercial RightsCompany (CRC). AccordingtoASG paymentof$75mforthe20% stakewouldbestaggered,with thefirsttrancheof$35msetto bepaidonthepartiesputting pentopaper,andthebalance overfouryears. However,thecapitalmustbe repaidtoASG,thoughitwould ContinuedonPage2
There
There
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system — people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends.
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off.
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Estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example.
When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low them to present new information — the system just runs the same check again, with the same information.
The IEJ and #PayTheGrants say the de-partment of social development had “op en ly acknowledged that these barriers have as their purpose the reduction of the number of SRD grant recipients in order to remain
The chair was at times aware that the future of Wilgenhof was a painfully controversial issue
In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
“The chair was at times aware that the future of Wilgenhof was a painfully controversial issue”
Sstimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
The chair was at times aware that the future of Wilgenhof was a painfully controversial issue
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay. In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example. When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low them to present new information — the system just runs the same check again, with the same information.
The IEJ and #PayTheGrants say the de-partment of social development had “op en ly acknowledged that these barriers have as their purpose the reduction of the number of SRD grant recipients in order to remain
In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
NEWS WORTH KNOWING SINCE 1985
In its somewhat jittery response to US president-elect
Donald Trump’s social media strafing of the idea of a Brics currency, our international relations spokespeople ironically resorted to the Trump playbook, blaming “incorrect reporting” and “false narrative running wild” — or, as they would say across the Atlantic, fake news!
But there’s nothing fake about discussions about a Brics currency. Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov have spoken about the idea. Consequently, Donald Trump is well within his rights to have an opinion.
The problem for the SA department of international relations &co-operation is that up until this point it has not said much. And it was in our own backyard, at the Brics summit in Johannesburg no less, where Lula da Silva said that the creation of a Brics currency “increases our payment options and reduces our vulnerabilities”. Our public diplomacy spokespeople were quieter then.
Trump, in his inimitable way and with nothing more than a tweet, has bounced the department into taking a position — and it has dutifully fallen in line.
Irrespective of Trump, a Brics currency was always a woeful idea — little more than an utterly unworkable mechanism for countries to avoid Western sanctions and to supercharge corruption and illicit payments. Those “false narratives” are narratives the department seemed happy to watch “run wild” during the course of the Joburg Brics summit, and the weekend’s rather semantic defence that Brics decisions are “taken by consensus” was true then, which raises the question — why not say it then too? It would have saved a lot of bother.
The G20 offers an opportunity for confident diplomacy
Trump’s tweet will vanish from memory soon enough, but we should learn from its implications. We are now the hosts of the Group of 20 (G20) and we need to develop more confidence and stop this dreadful habit of seeking the most accommodating coat-tails to cling to.
This is not an approach other Brics nations struggle with. India is nobody’s fool and does not behave as some kind of geopolitical imbongi. It has a very tense relationship with China but also isn’t bothered with Western bullying on Russian oil, for example. India’s Reliance Industries, which runs the world’s biggest refinery, is buying discounted Russian oil in roubles.
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, supports more trade being conducted in Brics countries’ currencies, such as rupees and rand. Last year, India and the UAE agreed to do more trade in local currencies.
India engages with the world as an equal and puts what it believes are its national interests first. India treats Brics as a vehicle for some of its interests, not as its family. It gets what it needs out of it. We should take inspiration from this, and make the absolute best of hosting the G20, remembering that the only team we need to be behind is Team SA and if we’re worried about a club, it should be the Southern African Development Community.
It was Sygnia’s Magda Wierzycka who rather sharply observed that the “S” in Brics is a whole country, not merely the indication of a plural. It’s an important point. 500 WORDS
When the economy turns out to have been shrinking while economists expected it to be growing it’s always going to be a shock.
But it’s even more so when everyone was hoping to see signs that the growth rate was starting to lift as a result of the end of load-shedding, the new spirit of confidence prompted by the government of national unity and the start of lower interest rates.
On the plus side, the 0.3% decline during the fourth quarter was driven mainly by a sector — agriculture — which is small in the scheme of things but always volatile.
It doesn’t necessarily change the narrative that growth is starting to pick up, and that the pointers for the next couple of years are looking good.
Strip out agriculture and, as Stats SA has said, the latest GDP figures are roughly in line with consensus, at plus 0.4% for the third quarter and 0.9% year on year. 150 WORDS
pays
US president-elect Donald Trump has warned that countries that opt out of the dollar system of exchange will face the wrath of his government.
This statement, with attendant warnings of sanction, should not be taken lightly for its short-term implications. However, it fits neatly into the passage of “the rise and fall of the dollar and the future of the international monetary system”, that has been heavily studied over the past two decades or more. It is safe to say that the glorious ride of the dollar, and its role as global reserve currency, will eventually end. It may not happen in our lifetime, but it will end. The most forceful opposition to the dollar’s role is ideological. That’s fine. Most of the copper-bottomed
By John Simpson
Khumbundzo Nthshavheni
Smoke them out, starve them out, or leave them to die – however you ret the minister in the pres idency’s words about underground illegal miners in North West, you’d forgiven for thinking.
Stephen Jones
The Welsh rugby writer is the latest in a string of administrators and former players to assert, without e, that the Springboks’ famed Bomb Squad is dangerous and bad for the game.
Bold intervention is needed on the US-SA tariffs front
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. .
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehen-
Americanophiles or people who fear “losing the West” enjoy lives that are thoroughly imbricated in US culture, and can’t imagine a life without the mighty dollar. Internal and external, and transnational factors, as well as long-run historical issues that have previously been alluded to in this column, help us understand what Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Charles de Gaulle’s finance minister, described as the “exorbitant privilege” the dollar has enjoyed since at least the end of World War 2. If we consider nonfinancial factors, cultural and information, communication and technological factors, we may get a better understanding of the inevitable end of this exorbitant privilege.
Let’s stay with the “big issue”. The exorbitant privilege Giscard d’Estaing referred to was an early reminder that everyone in the world had been carry-
derit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. . Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla. 260 WORDS — John Simpson, Johannesburg
Bold intervention is needed on the US-SA tariffs front Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. 95 WORDS — John Simpson, Johannesburg
ing a disproportionate burden for using the dollar. It has shaped almost every aspect of our lives, and not always for the better. When US treasury secretary John Connally said in 1971 that the dollar may be that country’s currency, but it was a problem for everyone, he referred to deployment of the dollar to secure US interests.
The US has been the key currency country that has held together
the global financial system, running deficits at home while supplying the world with international liquidity. This “liquidity” cost individual countries in more than just financial terms. We will take a brief look at this below.
Consider that it probably costs the US less than 10c to print a single $100 bill, but any country that uses the bill has to produce $100 worth of goods and services to get a single note. That seigniorage, a medieval-era privilege that ensured the “lord” kept an amount of the money he printed for himself, remains intact. This means that every country that uses any of the estimated 5.4-billion dollar notes now circulating in the world, based on data produced at the end of 2023, pays for the actual use of each bill.
The dollar became indispensable for almost every transaction across national boundaries. For instance, if
Bold intervention is needed on the US-SA
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. . — John Simpson, Johannesburg
Bold intervention is needed on the US-SA
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum. — John Simpson, Johannesburg
YOUR LETTER S Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Letters should be sent by e-mail to busday@bdfm.co.za or faxed to (011) 2805505. E-mailed letters are preferred. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a day time number
Zimbabwe buys goods from Sri Lanka it will pay in dollars. The same applies to Taiwan and Australia, Malaysia and India, or Ecuador and Argentina. When France imports cars or heavy machinery from China, or vice versa, the trade is made in dollars, and thereafter follows the cost of converting dollars into local currencies. A Swiss bank will accept deposits in euros or francs, but when a borrower wants dollars it adds to the cost of doing business because of currency fluctuations. Moreover, central banks and government agencies around the world may, at any moment, hold billions in US treasury bonds. Along the way benefits accrue to the US. When crises hit, as in 2007/08, bonds and investments around the world retain most of their dollar value. 600 WORDS There was a long-run decline after 2007/08, but immediate profits ac-
By IAN FLEMING
As a victim of the consequences of modern monetary theory (MMT), I find it impressive that SA shut down (hopefully permanently) the debate over the independence of the SA Reserve Bank.
As a foreigner I don’t know enough about the SA debate to know how its proponents justified their position, but as an economist I know that undermining or removing the independence of a central bank is an important step towards implementing MMT.
MMT is a monetary framework that proposes that the state funds its deficits by issuing (printing) currency. Modern monetary theorists use lots of technical jargon to conceal the asininity of their proposal which, when broken down in simple terms, means that when a government runs out of tax money and doesn’t wish to borrow, it literally just prints the currency (or types it into existence using a computer), and spends the printed money on whatever it desires.
That’s it; that’s MMT.
At first, this proposal sounds wonderful. One might think: “Since the government owns the currency, why doesn’t it just print more and not bother us with taxes? Why doesn’t it just print more and provide free healthcare, education and everything else?” Who wouldn’t jump at the offer to get free education, healthcare, infrastructure and other services, without having to pay taxes?
MMT could work if the immutable laws of demand and supply didn’t exist. But they do. The problem with printing new currency is that it doesn’t create real resources or goods. New currency isn’t going to make labour, land and capital goods spontaneously appear.
If the demand for commodities increases — an inevitable consequence of the introduction of new money — and the supply of commodities remains the same, which is the case seeing as new money doesn’t create new resources, the result is a rise in the prices of goods and services. This is known as price inflation.
Crosshead
To understand how increasing the money supply causes prices to rise one must first know that all fixed commodities are used by consumers and producers. Food is eaten, clothes wear and tear — as do houses, vehicles, and manufacturing equipment.
However, money isn’t used up when it’s employed in the purchase of commodities.
If I buy a bottle of witblits for R500 it is used up after I drink it, but the R500 is still in the hands of the vendor who sold it to me. That vendor might take the R500 and buy dinner at a restaurant.
As in the case with the witblits, the food has also been used up, but the R500 is in the
hands of yet another person, who can use it to purchase and use up another commodity, and so on. The same R500 uses up commodities, while it remains.
Introducing more money causes this depletion of commodities to happen faster, creating a relative scarcity of commodities, and as everyone knows (perhaps intuitively), a scarcity of commodities causes price increases. This is how printing more money causes price inflation.
The phenomenon is incontrovertible.
Some people argue that prices won’t increase if the new money is used to produce new commodities. This objection ignores the fact that new commodities require the employment of old commodities in their production, and whether the new money is
the audience. The accompanying graph is a more accurate representation of the effects of money printing. What cost a dollar in 1800 costs about $25 in 2022. This is the real effect of money printing. They fail to consider the very real possibility that productivity growth 750 WORDS can outpace the rise in prices, thereby giving the illusion that prices weren’t affected by the money supply increase. In reality, though prices didn’t rise they would otherwise have fallen, leading to lower living costs and higher living standards.
Productivity can increase due to several factors such as technological advancements, tax and regulatory cuts and discoveries of new resource-rich lands. If any of these lead to great increases in productivity and the
spent on commodities for consumption or to produce new goods, the goods are used up nevertheless, and the inflationary process described above still occurs.
Some argue that the data doesn’t bear this out; that there are examples of money supply increases without inflation. Such objections fail to consider a number of factors.
Upward price trend
Since the introduction of fiat currencies (and the inevitable increases in their supply), prices have been on a steady increase. Modern monetary theorists and other inflationists love to present charts that purportedly show where money supply increases didn’t lead to price increases.
The trend is generally upwards, and there’s a significant spike around the 1970s, when the US completely abandoned the gold standard and began to print money recklessly.
What modern monetary theorists do is isolate a couple of years and present that to
money supply increase is relatively small, prices won’t rise. Demand for currency
In countries such as the US, modern monetary theorists ignore the fact that they haven’t fallen to Zimbabwe-level inflation because there’s a high demand for the dollar, which prevents it from being worthless. If the world was to abandon the dollar as the global reserve currency the US would experience Zimbabwe levels of inflation overnight, because the demand for its currency will fall, leaving all those trillions of dollars scattered across the world to demand only US goods.
Unless they want to plunge the country into a serious economic and cultural crisis, SA cannot afford to give in to the modern monetary theorists. If the Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe are insufficient to serve as cautionary tales, look to the ongoing example of a variant of MMT in Nigeria.
Though the government manipulates inflation statistics to reflect a 34% inflation rate, the reality tells a different and more
Then the success of an individual is appraised the tendency is often to ignore how much of it was situational. All the focus falls on “how he or she did it”. This approach is flawed but fits in with the human love for heroes, people who overcome the odds to achieve success.
Many factors come to bear on individual success — whether it be on the sports field, in entrepreneurship or a professional career. The career of Henry Mancini, the man who blessed the world with the Pink Panther theme, is a good example of the mutually beneficial interaction of individual (including talent and effort) and situational factors.
Mancini emerged in the post-World War 2 era to transform film scoring, becoming “the first publicly successful and personally recognisable film composer in history”. Mancini helped turn what had been background music to the movies into part of pop culture.
As John Caps, author of Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music, points out, Mancini’s drive and talents had a big role to play in all of this. However, there were situational factors too.
Post-war America, particularly what Caps describes as the Kennedy-era optimism of the 1960s, created a receptive environment for Mancini’s compositional approach. Mancini came up with the sound that spoke to ’60s audiences.
The introduction of stereo technology, which included a recording process using several microphones and stereo vinyl discs, enhanced home listening and therefore created a new market for soundtracks to be repackaged and sold as records.
Mancini’s music spoke to three American generations. A unique feat
Caps says Mancini was “perfectly placed, by time and temperament”, to bridge the traditions of the World War 2 big band period and “the eclectic impatience of the baby boomer generation” that followed, the big formal orchestral film scores of Hollywood’s so-called golden years and “a modern American minimalist approach”.
Mancini’s music spoke to three American generations, a unique feat. It appealed to the war veterans, the newlyweds in the ’60s, and the baby boomers (those born between the end of World War 2 and the mid-’60s). These were different generations: the war veterans were struggling with middle age; the young newlyweds had just bought homes (with the most modern television and music systems); while the boomers were “lucky enough to enjoy the freedom of choice” between a path “to new suburbia” or joining the protest movements of the late ’60s.
The ’50s and ’60s were, according to the Los Angeles Times, part of the middle-class American dream — “an idyllic alternative to the cities and the urban ills that plagued them”. Mancini’s film scoring was different to the approaches that preceded him. The ’30s and ’40s soundtracks had more of a formal European symphonic style. The ’50s were characterised by atonal and chromatic compositional styles.
“None of that music seemed quite right for the freespirited, forward-looking, optimistic baby boomer stories
By MARIKA SBOROS
l In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example.
When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low them to present new information — the system just runs the same check again, with the same information.
The IEJ and #PayTheGrants say the department of social development had “op en ly acknowledged that these barriers have as their
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends.
CS president-elect Donald Trump has warned that countries that opt out of the dollar system of exchange will face the wrath of his government.
This statement, with attendant warnings of sanction, should not be taken lightly for its short-term implications. However, it fits neatly into the passage of “the rise and fall of the dollar and the future of the international monetary system”, that has been heavily studied over the past two decades or more.
It is safe to say that the glorious ride of the dollar, and its role as global reserve currency, will eventually end. It may not happen in our lifetime, but it will end. The most forceful opposition to the dollar’s role is ideological. That’s fine. Most of the copper-bottomed Americanophiles or people who fear
purpose the reduction of the number of SRD grant recipients in order to remain In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders
Art & Entertainment Oscars ahoy!
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends.
“losing the West” enjoy lives that are thoroughly imbricated in US culture, and can’t imagine a life without the mighty dollar. Internal and external, and transnational factors, as well as long-run historical issues that have previously been alluded to in this column, help us understand what Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Charles de Gaulle’s finance minister, described as the “exorbitant privilege” the dollar has enjoyed since at least the end of World War 2. If we consider nonfinancial factors, cultural and information, communication and technological factors, we may get a better understanding of the inevitable end of this exorbitant privilege.
Let’s stay with the “big issue”. The exorbitant privilege Giscard d’Estaing referred to was an early reminder that everyone in the world had been carrying a disproportionate burden for using
they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers. But the IEJ and #PayTheGrants argue it is here to stay.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends.
MICHAEL FRIDJHON
effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example. When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low
They said that Hof sometimes dishes out advice based o a ‘do as I say; don’t do as I do’ principle
Anonymous WHM practitioner
them to present new information.
— the system just runs the same check again, with the same information.
The IEJ and #PayTheGrants say the department of social development had “op en ly acknowledged that these barriers have as their purpose the reduction of the number of SRD grant recipients in order to remain
In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation.
There are several reasons why the regula-tions are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends.
the dollar. It has shaped almost every aspect of our lives, and not always for the better. When US treasury secretary John Connally said in 1971 that the dollar may be that country’s currency, but it was a problem for everyone, he referred to deployment of the dollar to secure US interests.
The US has been the key currency country that has held together the global financial system, running deficits at home while supplying the world with international liquidity. This “liquidity” cost individual countries in more than just financial terms. We will take a brief look at this below. Consider that it probably costs the US less than 10c to print a single $100 bill, but any country that uses the bill has to produce $100 worth of goods and services to get a single note. That seigniorage, a medieval-era privilege that ensured the “lord” kept an amount
of the money he printed for himself, remains intact. This means that every country that uses any of the estimated 5.4-billion dollar notes now circulating in the world, based on data produced at the end of 2023, pays for the actual use of each bill. The dollar became indispensable for almost every transaction across national boundaries. For instance, if Zimbabwe buys goods from
Lanka it will pay in dollars. The same applies to Taiwan and Australia, Malaysia and India, or Ecuador and Argentina. When France imports cars or heavy machinery from China, or vice versa, the trade is made in dollars, and thereafter follows the cost of converting dollars into local currencies. A Swiss bank will accept deposits in euros or francs, but when a borrower wants dollars it adds to the cost of doing
Bulls’ No 8 been knocking on the door for past season
By LIAM DEL CARME
l In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly
scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
Recently increased to R370, the SRD grant was introduced during the Covid lockdown to ameliorate the financial distress that came with it. Originally meant to last for six months, it has been repeatedly extended. The government says in court papers that the grant remains a temporary measure while the economy recovers.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verification system — as soon as someone’s bank account registers. 300 WORDS an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off pay-ments from friends, for example.
When someone wants to appeal, if their application is denied, the system does not al-low them to present new information — the system just runs the same check again, with the same information.
How Mulder secured his run in Test team
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as somee with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as somee with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off from friends.
By MAHLATSE MPHAHLELE
l In 2022 an estimated 18.3-million people aged 18 to 59 fell below the food poverty line: they could not “meet their daily caloric intake requirements”, say counsel for the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants in legal argument to the high court in Pretoria They will be in court next week doing battle with the National Treasury and the minister of social development over the latest regulations governing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant — popularly known as the R350 grant. They argue the regulations breach constitutional rights and are making the grant inaccessible to millions of people who need it.
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and
But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “secondguess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD
Late penalty gives West Ham win over Man Utd
grant is one of the government’s ways of giving effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”.
In written legal argument, counsel for the two organisations, Jason Brickhill, argues that the SRD grant is one of the government’s ways of giving
The chair was at times aware that the future of Wilgenhof was.
effect to the constitutional right of access to social assistance. Yet the current formulation of the regulations “ma -terially frustrate [government’s] own policy”.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and But the Treasury warns that the court or-ders they seek would be “disastrous ” for the economy and that they are asking the court to “second-guess the government’s prioritisation of highly scarce resources, to the detriment of the whole system of social assistance ”. In written legal argument, counsel for the two
Sipamla shines as Lions down Titans, retain crown
Stormers fans who go hard at their team for their loss to the Glasgow Warriors and their lowly 13th position on the United Rugby Championship (URC) log as we reach the international break do need to keep a few mitigating factors in mind. There were enough injured players sitting in front of the press box watching the game at the Danie Craven Stadium to give the team that started the match a good run for their money. Second, the Warriors are not a Mickey Mouse team. Any team that can go to Loftus to win a final, as Franco Smith’s team did last season, has a lot going for it.
I thought their trip to SA might hurt their challenge, as it did when they left the highveld last season with two defeats and little to show for their efforts, but instead they managed to pick up seven invaluable log points in their games against the Sharks and Stormers. They scored four tries in both games, giving them eight tries against five across their two fixtures in this country. In both games they showed an impressive ability to strike with the sort of flair and X-factor, plus a heavy offload emphasis, that is supposed to be the hallmark of the Stormers. Indeed, it was the Stormers who inspired the change of coach that brought Smith into his position. It was after what now still ranks as the Warriors’ only defeat to the Stormers, at Cape Town Stadium in April 2022, that Glasgow opted to change. What they wanted was what they saw from the Stormers that day.
It’s reasonable to suspect that a crowd of more than 30,00 would have watched the game had it been played in Cape Town
But that performance and run of success is suddenly starting to feel like a long time ago for the Stormers. With their first game after the month off being against what should be a fully loaded Sharks team, they are the local side under the most pressure. Coach John Dobson has much to think about before that end of November trip to Durban. The Sharks are the antithesis of the Stormers in that they made huge use of their cheque-book over the first few seasons of the URC. It hasn’t worked until now, mainly because the Sharks’ all-round contracting was abysmal since 2013 and there appeared to be ignorance of the fact that you can’t just buy success in rugby; There has to be a strong team culture.
That culture has been developed now, and the contracting has been more astute. I fear that they and the Bulls, who also brought in a lot more players than the Stormers did over the past few seasons, are set to move ahead of the Cape team. This is disturbing because the Stormers are the most supported local team, certainly when it comes to bums on seats, with 28,000 at the previous game at DHL Stadium against Munster and the much smaller venue in Stellenbosch close to capacity for the Glasgow game.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones can-not apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verifica-tion system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The systeregisters an amount greater than R624, their that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off from friends.
There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verification system — as soon as someone’s bank ac-count registers an amount greater than R624, they will not receive their grant that month. The system does not cater for people who share bank accounts or for one-off payments from friends. There are several reasons why the regulations are unlawful, argues Brickhill. These include an online-only application system —people with no access to smartphones cannot apply; and Sassa’s use of a bank verification system.
It ’s reasonable to suspect that a crowd of more than 30,000 would have watched the game had it been played in Cape Town. The weekend experience does highlight the downside of the Stormers being tenants at their main home ground and not owners. The switch was made because of a country music concert booked for the stadium years ahead, but it happens too often. Not that the venue shift to Stellenbosch, where the conditions at the early kickoff neared a sweltering 30°C, explains the appearance of something being a little off with the Stormers in comparison with their first two seasons, where they made consecutive URC finals. The key word may be desperation. Every time a Stormers’ player is asked about the