Sunday, April 19, 2020

The ANC’s attempted destruction of the South African wine industry


We are governed by idiots who fight among themselves in a battle over power, with no concern for the well-being of the country. The most recent example is Dlamini-Zuma’s about turn on Fikile “FearFokol” Mbalula’s statement that it was OK to transport packaged wine to the docks and ship it to willing export customers. In one stupid sentence she has deprived the wine industry and SA of a huge amount of sorely needed revenue and threatened the existence of a large number of wine producers

About 25 years ago, I was in a Louis Allen Management program with a number of colleagues. We were given an exercise: You’re on a desert island, alone, with no resources. An empty Coke tin washes up on the beach. Name 50 things you can do with it. One of my colleagues gave 50 ideas and added a 51st: “you can give it to the ANC and they’ll break it”. Prophetic words

We’ve seen them do it to Eskom, South African Airways, the Post Office, South African Railways (under a few new names), Iscor (sold off to people who closed it down), and most of the essential services like health services, water and sanitation in all the provinces they “govern”/mismanage

They aren’t in charge in the Western Cape, which is why the Province works; that is a problem for them. The wine industry is one of the most important employers and revenue earners in the Province so, I believe, the Ms Zuma faction sees its destruction as a priority. After all, they don’t drink our wine. The fat cats prefer expensive marques of Champagne (I’ll have a Moway) and top end brands of imported single malt. “Drink domestic? Never Darling!” and they make the taxpayers pay for it

The President appears to have the right ideas, but he is too busy watching the back-stabbers, Dlamini-Zuma, Magashule, Mabuza, Cele etc. Some of us (not me) voted ANC in the last election; they believed they were “supporting Cyril”. All they did was recharge the batteries of his enemies. As long as we have an ANC government, this country will continue to slide downhill. I’m not accustomed to negative thoughts, and I’ve always avoided political comment in this space, but I can’t stop this one. We all need to do whatever we can to have this stupid decision reversed. It happened when Vinpro and WOSA turned round the decision to stop the harvest and ruin the 2020 vintage. The politicians failed there, so this is the next weapon they are using against us
Fight!

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