We live in a world where words have been deprived of their original meaning. So accustomed have we become to seeing and hearing some words that they have lost their impact. We have become numb to them. Comfortably numb.
Consider the headline as a case in point. Take a few seconds and reread it. Now consider the following headlines: ‘Powerless prospect with unwavering challenges’ and ‘Defenceless attitude with unrelenting confrontations’. Which impacts on you? Or is it simply a case of same old, same old?
In case you are wondering, I do not lay claim to the headline of this article – the only word I contributed is ‘with’. The headline emanates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and was used in its press release of November 25, titled ‘South Africa: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2019 Article IV Mission”. For the uninitaited, an IMF Article IV consultation is a yearly country surveillance, which culminates in comprehensive consultations.
Arguably, the IMF’s primary challenge, when commenting on the state of the South African economy, is to present the persistently deteriorating economy in an innovative way. This requires some serious out-of-the-box thinking. At issue is not that South Africa’s economic ills are not known – actually, they are well known – but that the required corrective action is simply lacking. This makes one wonder whether there is real political commitment to implementing the required corrective action? The answer might well consist of two letters that appear consecutively on the alphabet.
What do you think the IMF believes to be the South African economy’s three immediate challenges. Take a minute to consider. Spoiler alert – the challenges are persistently weak economic growth, deteriorating fiscal and government debt and major difficulties in the operations of State-owned enterprises (SOEs).
If you have the time to invest in the IMF’s press release, you will find the text littered with understatements, not unlike those of other international institutions whose approach is similar.
This begs the questions: When will the honesty return? When will there be a return to calling a spade a spade, and not a gardening tool?
Let us consider descriptions of the three immediate challenges, starting with ‘weak economic growth’, which I would call nonexistent economic growth. If anything, ‘growth’ is a significant overstatement. South Africa is an economy in recession. The only retort that would be offered when the R word is mentioned is that there is no real definition of such.
‘Deteriorating fiscal and government debt’. I would say spiralling. Again, the only retort would be the measure of the debt. But then debt is quite simply incurred when expenditure exceeds revenue.
‘Major difficulties in the operations of SOEs’. If ever there was an understatement of the century, this would be a serious contender, if not, the odds-on favourite. The reason SOEs will never be fixed can be found in the Auditor-General of South Africa’s report, ‘Governance, oversight and sustainability of State-owned entities’, which was released on November 20. It reads: “Turnaround plans initiated almost on an annual basis had almost no impact in restoring the SOE environment, as executive and management instability makes it impossible to hold those responsible accountable.”
Part of the IMF’s proposed solution, under the headline ‘Reinvigorating economic performance’, is: “A more decisive approach to reform is urgently needed. Impediments to growth must be removed, vulnerabilities addressed, and policy buffers rebuilt. Expediting structural reform implementation is the only way to sustainably boost private investment and inclusion.”
As ‘reinvigorate’ means ‘to give new energy or strength, a question that may be asked is: When last was South Africa’s economic performance ‘invigorating’?
I leave you to contemplate all this as I take a recess. Until we meet again in the new year, I wish you a peaceful and blessed festive season.