Tributum Newsletter #43

Hello

September 2022 appears to have been a difficult month all over. In SA we faced another interest rate hike and probably the worst run of load-shedding since its start…more than a decade ago. But it seems that Europe faces the same crises going into the winter, albeit not from continued infrastructure failure. The UK got a new occupant at No 10 and they lost the Queen within the space of about 72 hours. In the USA inflation is out of control and so are interest rates. Russian men cannot leave Russia fast enough before being conscripted and the Ukraine is still under attack.

However, for one man September 2022 will probably be more bitter-sweet than most – at age 41 Roger Federer retired. He played his last professional match, fittingly with his great rival and great friend, Rafael Nadal. The occasion enforced my view that there is no denying the romanticism in sport. You cannot script these stories. Most people who saw the pictures of the two friends and competitors holding hands and crying after the game would have had a lump in their throat, if not a tear of their own. Whether you are a tennis fan or not and whether Roger was your champion of choice or not, respect has to go to the Fed. How many of us would be able to say that our competitors cried more than us on the day that we retire?

I noticed the following quote on LinkedIn during the month: “Your life right now is a result of what you did a year ago. Your life a year from now will be the result of what you do right now. Act accordingly.”

South Africa is now reaping the difficult rewards of the easy decisions made by Government about Eskom and our energy supply over the past 20 years. And we will be reaping the future rewards of any decisions they make now. They should now make the difficult decisions, so things can get easier going forward. Government’s plans on Eskom will be part of the mid-term Budget speech to be delivered during October. Help is needed, but how much and where it will come from is the main question. SA taxpayers are tired of the body blows. If not with rate increases, then with poor spending choices and corruption.

The other question is whether Government has the will and skill to do so. According to Vusi Thembekwayo (hang your head in shame if you don’t know who he is, and then Google him) one of Africa’s problems is that we insist on electing leaders who’ve built nothing, and then we wonder why nothing ever gets built…Hopefully JZ’s second coming is just a rumour and nothing serious will come of it.

Our life a year from now will be the result of decisions taken now…let’s hope sanity prevails. Until next month, keep breathing.