We know that finding something good in South Africa is as hard as finding the proverbial hen’s teeth, but Coronation fund managers nevertheless believe they have found the following:
Some important positives in amongst the bad news:
- Strength and independence of the media, judiciary and commissions of enquiry
- Zondo Commission revealing scale of state capture, corruption and fraud
- Action being taken against those who have enriched themselves: Thekwini mayor; suspensions at state institutions like Transnet and Eskom; and more to come in 2020
- More business-friendly environment
- Relationship between state and corporates improving
- Softening of NHI tone after industry engagement
- Very significant change in labour legislation that has received very little comment: Secret balloting for strikes
Harder line on state institutions & SOEs:
- Strengthened teams at SARS and the NPA
- SAA placed under business rescue
- PRASA placed under administration
- Capable new Eskom CEO
Positive policy developments:
- Eskom white paper on unbundling
- Framework for spectrum auction published
- Easing visa restrictions: Visa-free access for more countries; piloting e-visas; birth certificate exemptions
Better fiscal discipline:
- The government is signalling a stronger commitment to containing expenditure
So there you have it! South Africa can recover and if it does, almost everything will go up in value due to the current low valuations.
Moving on to something else in closing: Currently the biggest news item is the coronavirus in China. Let’s hope it can be contained and that we do not have to write about its impact soon.
