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This economic and trade-focused column is prepared by Riaan de Lange – riaan@tariffandtrade.co.za. The views expressed in this column are the author's personal views
These are my principles, but . . .
My father’s friend is a principled man. In the past, you would have read much into my opening sentence. Only a few days ago, my young son returned from school with a letter. A dreaded letter. In...
Free trade deal is much ado about nothing
It is the eightieth day of the year as I sit down to write this piece – the first full day of the sign of Aries. In case you are wondering, there are 285 days until the end of the year, and, in...
Remember to look up at the stars
Writing this column tends to be a Sunday afternoon routine of contemplation and reflection on the week that was. But there are a few weeks, such as before the Easter holiday, when this routine is...
Irreconcilable and self contradictory
In his maiden State of the Nation address (Sona), President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged that land expropriation with compensation, which government regards as one of several measures to accelerate land...
A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh
For good measure, you need to repeat the title another three times. Does it sound familiar? If not, then the first three words following the introduction would, “In the jungle”. For good measure...
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
Has the tide really turned? Well, it depends on your perspective. Is the tide turning for the better of for the worse? Before exploring further, let me confess that I typed away with Roger Waters’...
Analysing customs stats a business imperative
On February 2, 2009, I had my 15 minutes of fame. I will never forget that morning. It was very early in the morning, with only a few cars on the road, as I made my way to my office at the...
The smartest guys and gals in the room?
If only . . . I fear that the guys and gals are anything but. For one, they have to be in the room. Before I talk about the ‘they’, let me just explain the old business adage, to ‘be in the room’....
South Africa in junk or high on it?
Have you seen junk? Ever touched, used it or sailed on it? No, not in it, but on it? A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to sail on a junk while visiting Hong Kong. A junk, a Chinese...
Worse than useless, but who is listening?
The difficulty with the English language – and this is compounded by the fact that South Africa is a country of non-first-language English speakers – is that words tend to be used without their...
The 2023 Rugby World Cup mistake
The 2023 Rugby World Cup Mistake “Impi! wo 'nans' impi iyeza, Obani bengathinta amabhubesi?” The opening lyrics of Johnny Clegg and Juluka’s ‘Impi’ resonates with me, as do the images of the...
No future, no future, for . . . you!
No future, no future, for … you! It’s strange how these words, granted with the added impetus provided by an old Pioneer, cutting through the silence of a cold dark winter’s night, are not greatly...
No matter what the experts say, customs is only about three things
Do you consider yourself an ‘expert’ or a ‘specialist’ in your chosen profession? If you answered ‘expert’, I would raise a weary smile, for a wise person once told me of an unwittingly (maybe not)...
Neopatrimonialism is merely ‘a huge embarrassment’
The dramatic decline to which a select few ‘South Africans’ are subjecting so many of us no longer considered a ‘crisis’. In essence, neopatrimonialism is not considered a crisis’ – it is merely a...
South Africa falling down a rabbit hole
The use of graphs to illustrate the South African economy’s trajectory is a superfluous endeavour in the nth degree. The appeal of graphs, your general line graph, is to emphasise the tendency of...
I can’t explain – you would not understand
If anything, I have, in the words of Pink Floyd, “become comfortably numb”. My thoughts are miles away as I wonder through the Victoria & Albert, or the V&A. No, not the V&A Waterfront, in Cape...
Customs inaction – 4 661 days, and still counting
It is a fateful Saturday. It is September 16. If you cannot recall the day, I have three digits to remind 57-0. Enough said – numbers are clinical when conveying a message. A total of 4 661 days...
I am unable to replicate your thinking
In a country famed for its politeness, you have to take care not of offend, or to be perceived to offend, when expressing an opinion that may differ from those held by people about whom you are...
Don’t make an impact – consciously limit it
Sometimes I wonder about the costs that I personally impose on the planet. This usually happens when I hear of people being held up, by others, as having made a positive contribution. Is it not...
South Africa is at war with itself – but why?
Why, indeed? Why worry? My grandfather used to offer an answer that you might be quite familiar with: “If you worry, you die; if you don’t worry. you also die. So, why worry?” If I were asked this...
The real conflict is between truth and lies
The Real Conflict is between Truth and Lies It is 21 hours since the unthinkable has happened, an event which has divided, and is expected to continue to divide, the athletics world for the...
Preparing to sell off the family silver?
The expression to sell or sell off the family silver might not be as well known in South Africa as it is elsewhere in the world. Consequently, the cautionary wisdom to which it alludes to is...
By failing to plan, we are planning to fail
South Africa is stuck in economic and political rut, and “there is no two ways about it" and "there can be no doubt about that”, as one of my bosses of many years past was famed for saying. South...
A genie granting grants is wishful thinking
It is said that there are three wishes that a genie cannot grant. It’s still on my bucket list to find one, which I fear would only be possible through divine intervention, But, I cannot wish for...
You must be choking all over again
It is a balmy London Sunday afternoon. It is June 11. It is Groundhog Day. Well, for me it is. Just a few hours ago, an unwelcome event recurred. You might even say that it was “It's deja vu all...
Are South African companies dying or perishing?
This is a simple enough question, but is the answer as simple? Well, that depends on the distinction you make between dying and perishing. According to the Oxford Dictionary perishing is defined as...
Uber, chumocracy and a corrupt culture of entitlement
Is this an apt summation of present-day South Africa? Quite possibly so. But the headline of this column was appropriated from a British newspaper published in the days prior to David Cameron’s...
Braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies, but no Chevrolet
“South Africa, what is your favourite meal? Braaivleis! Sport? Rugby! Weather? Sunshine! And what’s your greatest car, South Africa? Chevrolet. Let’s see: it’s braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies and...
Preferred-trader numbers all very confusing
On May 8, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced that, on that day, it would officially launch its Customs Preferred Trader Programme, which, it said, marked the culmination of an...
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