South Africa’s decline is the worst of nations not at war

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...cline-worst-of-nations-not-at-war-model-shows

South Africa’s performance on a range of social, economic and governance measures deteriorated more in the past 12 years than any other nation not at war, according to Eunomix Business & Economics Ltd.

The decline is likely to continue as the country wrestles with the consequences of nine years of worsening corruption and policy paralysis under former President Jacob Zuma, the Johannesburg-based political-risk advisory company said.

..
Orthodox economics adopted during the rule of former President Thabo Mbeki, who was in power from 1999 until 2008, have been abandoned in favor of more populist policies. They include a drive to adopt land expropriation without compensation, free tertiary education and more stringent black economic empowerment requirements for mining companies.



Shocking. They are hellbent on turning into Zimbabwe. Land expropriation without compensation, seems like a great place for investment. Sold as fairness and social justice but results in a race to the bottom. Hopefully sanity can take hold and the both the economy and the racial politics can stabilize.
 
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Nov 25, 2013
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...cline-worst-of-nations-not-at-war-model-shows

South Africa’s performance on a range of social, economic and governance measures deteriorated more in the past 12 years than any other nation not at war, according to Eunomix Business & Economics Ltd.

The decline is likely to continue as the country wrestles with the consequences of nine years of worsening corruption and policy paralysis under former President Jacob Zuma, the Johannesburg-based political-risk advisory company said.

..
Orthodox economics adopted during the rule of former President Thabo Mbeki, who was in power from 1999 until 2008, have been abandoned in favor of more populist policies. They include a drive to adopt land expropriation without compensation, free tertiary education and more stringent black economic empowerment requirements for mining companies.



Shocking. They are hellbent on turning into Zimbabwe. Land expropriation without compensation, seems like a great place for investment. Sold as fairness and social justice but results in a race to the bottom. Hopefully sanity can take hold and the both the economy and the racial politics can stabilize.

I'm sure that South Africans everywhere appreciate your concern.
 

Paladin3

Diamond Member
Mar 5, 2004
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I hope you don't have to someday start a similar thread about the downfall of the U.S. with Trump cited as the cause.
 
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Bitek

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
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I hope you don't have to someday start a similar thread about the downfall of the U.S. with Trump cited as the cause.

This.

While trying to stir the pot with "socialism" and "social justice" he forgot to be concerned about graft and corruption, incompetent public officials, tribalism and racism, and overall strongman populist policies pushed to favor a few racial groups and punishing others.

All that's missing is trade wars and tariffs. MSAGA!

Its sad seeing a beautiful country tear itself apart through grievance politics.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
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I did not realize that a poster was limited to only talking about things that happen in his resided country.
 

Indus

Diamond Member
May 11, 2002
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Clearly the OP hasn't heard of India where a nationalist leader is responsible for hate, division, failed economics and a vastly underreported unemployment.
 

brandonbull

Diamond Member
May 3, 2005
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This.

While trying to stir the pot with "socialism" and "social justice" he forgot to be concerned about graft and corruption, incompetent public officials, tribalism and racism, and overall strongman populist policies pushed to favor a few racial groups and punishing others.

All that's missing is trade wars and tariffs. MSAGA!

Its sad seeing a beautiful country tear itself apart through grievance politics.

If only they had "hope and change".
 
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Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
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As someone whose girlfriend emigrated from South Africa, I can attest to some of the problems, if not the way UC spins them.

The issue is not that "they" (meaning all of SA) are bent on becoming Zimbabwe, it's that Zuma derailed things in a big way and Ramaphosa isn't much better. The Democratic Alliance is better, but I suspect it struggles because it's seen as too close to big business -- even if some of its policies would be considered left-wing in the US. It doesn't do a lot to appeal to people outside of major urban areas, and even then its real base is in Cape Town.

I'd add that there just seems to be poor management of basics like electricity. It's still fairly common to know that you won't have electricity for part of the day. Eskom (the public utility) is in a bad enough state between corruption, debt and mismanagement that the government just this year said would split up the company in to three entities. And then there's crime -- there isn't enough enforcement on the streets.

There is an election on May 8th, and I'm curious to see if there's any shakeup in the political landscape, although I'm not counting on it. There are few parties that truly represent a broad swath of the population.

Also, it's kind of ironic for Slow to try to step in and blame "the left," because the ANC's land appropriation is actually much closer to Trump's ideology than anything on the American left. It's the same basic argument: pin the country's problems on a different cultural group and insist that things would be better if you could just kick those people out.
 
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Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
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As someone whose girlfriend emigrated from South Africa, I can attest to some of the problems, if not the way UC spins them.

The issue is not that "they" (meaning all of SA) are bent on becoming Zimbabwe, it's that Zuma derailed things in a big way and Ramaphosa isn't much better. The Democratic Alliance is better, but I suspect it struggles because it's seen as too close to big business -- even if some of its policies would be considered left-wing in the US. It doesn't do a lot to appeal to people outside of major urban areas, and even then its real base is in Cape Town.

I'd add that there just seems to be poor management of basics like electricity. It's still fairly common to know that you won't have electricity for part of the day. Eskom (the public utility) is in a bad enough state between corruption, debt and mismanagement that the government just this year said would split up the company in to three entities. And then there's crime -- there isn't enough enforcement on the streets.

There is an election on May 8th, and I'm curious to see if there's any shakeup in the political landscape, although I'm not counting on it. There are few truly

Also, it's kind of ironic for Slow to try to step in and blame "the left," because the ANC's land appropriation is actually much closer to Trump's ideology than anything on the American left. It's the same basic argument: pin the country's problems on a different cultural group and insist that things would be better if you could just kick those people out.

Bingo!

My wife is South African and we spend 2-3 months a year in the Western Cape.

The ANC became massively corrupt. And in it's last dying gasp, it is embracing the EFF's divisive racism to cement black votes against whites and try to derail the DA's momentum. It is EXACTLY what Trump is doing here. It's is the ANC's version of the Southern Strategy.

What is not helping, is that every white nationalist org in the world is spreading FUD and propaganda about South Africa. This is shooting white Afrikaners in the foot.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
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Clearly the OP hasn't heard of India where a nationalist leader is responsible for hate, division, failed economics and a vastly underreported unemployment.

Would it be okay for him to start a thread on that, or, would it still be wrong for him to do? Why should he not talk about S. Africa, but India is okay?
 

Indus

Diamond Member
May 11, 2002
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Would it be okay for him to start a thread on that, or, would it still be wrong for him to do? Why should he not talk about S. Africa, but India is okay?

Umm the title is misleading in "worst".. talk about it all you want but it's not an isolated case sadly.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
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Umm the title is misleading in "worst".. talk about it all you want but it's not an isolated case sadly.

Is your problem with the OP, or the author of the article that he copied the headline from? Do you dislike that the OP did not know about India, or the author of the article?
 

umbrella39

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
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Imagine the odds of meatpuppet Greenman bringing his mop to yet another UC concern troll thread. Just imagine them... As two separate people...
 

1prophet

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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I hope you don't have to someday start a similar thread about the downfall of the U.S. with Trump cited as the cause.
That downfall of the US is indeed happening, but anyone thinking Trump is the cause is lying to themselves, rather he is an effect of the corporatism and greed of the last 30 years that has enriched the top 1% at the expense of the rest of the country all while politicians pay little more than lip service to the actual needs of the country as a whole.

When you constantly elect people that lie to you in order to get in to political office and then turn around and do what is best for their owners, eh donors,


Eventually there is a political backlash or blowback as some would like to put it, and then you act shocked and all that when you end up with this.