Welcome to 2017. A new era has apparently dawned.
December 2016 - and the first few days of January 2017 - have been scandal free. By "scandal" I mean shenanigans on a nation-shaking, currency-quaking, investor-scrambling scale such as those which occurred in December 2015 when President Jacob Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene and began his siege of the Treasury.
No minister was fired, no new policy craziness was revealed and nobody made an unwise statement that shook the political foundations.
So mild was the political weather over the holiday season that the business news agency Bloomberg allowed itself a positive one-liner on South Africa in an article entitled: "The Most Popular Investor Picks for Emerging Markets in 2017".
This is the line:
Some investors see President Jacob Zuma’s power waning, boosting the appeal of South African stocks and bonds, especially given that some say the country will probably avoid a debt downgrade.
Hardly a ringing endorsement, but it makes a change from the usual stance of anxious negativity. We'll take it.
Which is not to say that there were no controversies.
The Mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, visited Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, causing government to issue a strongly worded statement.
This from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation: The visit "was in breach of South Africa's foreign policy and is highly regretted".
South Africa supports something called the One China policy according to which Taiwan does not exist as a state. China is a jealous bride and any flirtation with Taiwan leads to great anxiety. It's worse than dating the Dalai Lama.
And a second controversy is brewing over the matric results.
This from today's Business Day:
A row has broken out on the eve of the release of the matric examination results over whether standard-setting body Umalusi is consistent in applying its methodology for the adjustment of raw marks.
While DA spokesman for education Gavin Davis has expressed doubts over Umalusi’s consistency in adjusting raw marks for 28 subjects upwards and only four downwards, Umalusi is adamant its methodology is sound.
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has also joined the tiff, describing Davis’s questioning of the process as political point-scoring and "sour grapes" as the Western Cape was not the largest beneficiary of the adjustments this year.
Read more here:
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