I really don’t want to contribute not a second of my time or a cent of my tax paying money to a people as disgusting and shameful as what we have seen. To call these mobs animals is the understatement of the year and frankly the use of “animals” is unfair; a better term would be savages. It always fascinates me how human behaviour descends into such base actions when push comes to shove.

To return to my quite distressed commentary though I simply feel that an impotent government coupled with savages is not the kind of place I want to live anymore and not the kind of environment I want my kids to one day grow up in. The army should have long been called in and a State of Emergency called but Thabo Mbeki is a mongoloid and would rather concentrate on whether he should have the chicken or beef for lunch.

I truly hope this situation is sorted out rapidly. All I want is for someone to restore my faith in the average South African because to be honest the thought of the Army gunning down the savages does not bother me one bit. If you play with fire you must get burnt.

From a uniquely Jewish perspective I think this taps a certainly sensitive vein as it reminds us of the actions taken by the Nazi’s pre World War II when Jews were rounded up in the streets and removed from their houses. I can’t help but feel a bit like a German living in a town near a concentration camp. It shows me that “for evil to flourish, good must just stand idly by”.
As I’ve said, I am truly ashamed to be a South African over the last few days and feel particularly distressed that little is being done to solve the problem. The police clearly cannot cope with the issue and it feels like a war zone out there.

I must apologise for the lack of structure in this post but it is written in an even more emotional manner than usual as I feel I need to vent my emotions through my writing.

You know what this proves to me? Not only are the people performing these evictions idiots but also clearly not in touch with reality. Their behaviour is disgusting no matter what their reasoning (which is wrong and I will soon prove that) and they should be shot on site for their actions.

The whole “they take our jobs” thing is totally unacceptable in my mind. Maybe my mentality is wrong but a little competition never killed anyone. Step up your game and show how you’re better than anyone else and get a job rather than the typical South African mentality of being previously disadvantaged thus currently entitled. Also why are you evicting people who have to live in Alexandra, not a particularly nice place to start off with? These people chose our country rather than dying from starvation or ethnic violence in their home countries. It’s not their fault they want a better life. If you have a problem with a lack of jobs then head on up the N3 highway and you’ll find yourself at the Union buildings. Better yet, head on down the N1 to Cape Town to Parliament. Oh and while you’re there, jump in the ocean.

The other point about foreigners causing crime is a pathetic excuse as well. Follow my logic here: correct me if I’m wrong but don’t we live in the world’s worst criminal hotspot? I don’t see those sort of statistics in places like Zimbabwe, Botswana or Malawi do I? Why is this? Why is it that despite barely having a government and a bankrupt economy Zimbabweans can still control themselves? This clearly shows me that it’s not mainly foreigners who are creating crime but our local South African cretins.

Quite simply it’s times like this that make me embarrassed to be a South African and associated with this country.

I’m a young entrepreneur trying to make a living out in the big bad world. I run two separate companies that are pretty complementary but require different skills and experience to succeed. I started these businesses during my time at varsity and then went on after I completed my degree to work on my businesses.

When I look back at where I am I know I’m fortunate that despite the many, many mistakes I’ve made everything somehow came together. I’m fortunate to have a relatively affluent background, which could support me while the business was being founded. I had the thought recently: “What if I didn’t have this backup?” The average South African does not have parents who can fund their expenses while they take a year off to start a business and it was in this moment that I realized the obvious: Big business in South Africa is doing absolutely nothing for the small guy.

My issue is the fact that with the lack of jobs in our country there is a desperate need for entrepreneurs and the only people who will be able to take the massive risk is the youth. This is not only due to the enthusiasm and energy they possess but also due socio-political issues such as lack of education and potential employment. This brings me to the issue of what is big business doing for the young South African entrepreneur? Where are the mentorship programs? Where are the youth venture capital companies? It’s as though the average South African born in the 80’s is something of a lost generation. Most people can’t get a decent job due to lack of skills and have no education.

When the average South African finishes either high school or university there is absolutely no incentive for them to go work as an entrepreneur and I find this quite disgusting. The sad fact of the matter is that money is a tiny factor in becoming an entrepreneur; making critical decision and knowing how to deal with people is the real deal sealer and no one is helping to impart those skills on the youth.

So many times I phone up a big company to sell a product and I get met with indifference and arrogance. I sell a service that provides marketing to the youth for a cheaper price and with a more effective product compared to competitors but no one seems to consider this. On a phone call once I spoke to a marketing manager who broke it down perfectly. His comment was that they use our vastly bigger (I use bigger in terms of revenue) competitors simply because its easier for them to justify it to their bosses. Here’s the rub, people are so conservative and scared to take a chance on young business. All these businesses are so busy chasing a dollar (well a rand technically) that they are afraid to make a change.

All I hear about these days are crime related death and destruction stats and it saddens me that when you break it down to the irony that the average criminal runs their own business. If jobs aren’t available then self-sustaining businesses should be promoted. The only people that can afford to promote and support youth entrepreneurship are large corporate’s.

Unfortunately in South Africa where every industry is either a monopoly or near to a monopoly that there is no incentive for these companies to support anyone else and big business makes other big business richer. It’s a sad fact but this is the reality. My solution is to get a few youth business’s together and work to break into the market but as I’ve mentioned before, I’m fortunate with my background. Without big business coming down to our level many South Africans have no chance.

Let me be the first to say that clearly everyone in South Africa has to much money and would rather goof off than work. From what I understand this is an unpaid holiday for most people which shows me that there is a glut of money in the country. People are obviously earning more than they need and want to achieve a level of parity.

This whole thing ticks me off. It’s not as though the company can afford to take any more time off considering the crippling power cuts we’ve had in the last few months. The economy is in trouble due to power failures and frankly I feel as though holidays should be cut rather than more offered.

Frankly this makes me wonder about the average South African. Surely the average miner has some foresight to see how much one days worth of work could potentially affect their job stability, especially in the tumultuous environment? One days productivity amounts to millions of rands lost and frankly all this happens due to the fact that we need more time to get drunk and party.

As an entrepreneur this annoys me as there is no such thing as a holiday and this forces me to stop work as no one is available. This is clearly a problem as I have pressing issues to attend to. As a student, my work doesn’t stop after the five o-clock bell so this annoys me from that angle as well.

All in all I’m shocked that our wonderful president caved to trade federations when work is the only thing that will bring us out of this dip. Oh well, I seem to be the only one who enjoys work in this country.

So apparently the South African Police Service has just taken delivery of, wait for it, a 150 million rand Cessna plane. The reason for this is, and I quote, “to ensure that senior police and the task force can be deployed in the wink of an eye.” Let me be the first to say that this is the biggest waste of money I’ve ever heard of in my entire life. Issue number one: when have the police ever needed to be deployed on such short notice that they could not drive or fly on public transport methods? Secondly the plane was bought to, and I quote yet again, “replace the police’s “elderly” Beechcraft, which is already 38 years old”. So they bought a new plane even though they already had a private plane. I’m sorry, it takes 15 hours to DRIVE from Johannesburg to Cape Town and two hours by commercial jet. How long could the old plane have taken; 5 hours maximum?

This is a ridiculous waste of money and screams of corruption. The police chiefs clearly want a jet they can use to shuttle their drug money and mistresses around. Let’s do some math here quickly: if we assume a flight on a local carrier costs R2000 return (due to the fact that the flight would be booked last minute assuming a need for speed) then they SAPS could have afforded SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND return trips roughly anywhere in the country. Now I understand that flights are often booked or they might need to go to remote locations but they had a plane already! Surely they didn’t need to buy a new jet? I mean how often can they use it?

Another financial issue to consider is with R150 million how many new police could be trained and positioned to fight crime? It seems the heads of every government institution are only interested in self promotion and stupidity.

As a closing note take a look at the Cessna and tell me how relevant it is for the Police to own a jet as nice as this one.

If you’re bored go look here for the specs of the Cessna Citation Sovereign

It’s seems I’m becoming the next Isabel Jones these days with way I bitch and moan about how the South African consumer is constantly being ripped off. Well anyway, I’m going to talk about Ster Kinekor now and that’s just how it’s going to be.
Basically in the last few weeks I’ve been booking movies online and have noticed a disturbing new figure on the bill at the end of the transaction. It seems they have started charging a booking fee when you book for a movie online. I’m not quite sure why they would suddenly start charging this fee but they must be making an absolute fortune on it.
There are multiple issues to consider here. If Ster Kinekor is doing this to recoup the amount of money they are being charged by the credit card vendors then what they are doing is highly illegal. A company is not allowed to recoup this money from the consumer who seems to be getting a very raw deal here. Now I understand when I buy a product from Computicket they charge me a booking fee but it’s understood that this is how they make their money.

The second issue to consider is that I am being told that I should be punished for making a booking online rather than going to the cinema and standing in a queue for half an hour. Surely booking online is an easier process for Ster Kinekor? They don’t need to pay for staff to attend the counter and the company knows they have a certain amount of people coming to a movie. I’m pretty sure the whole point of an online portal is to make their system work faster although it seems that in South Africa we are shown time and time again that no matter where you buy from, online or not, you will be penalized in some way for giving a company your hard earned money.

While it might seem petty to complain over a couple of rands it truly is the principle; I’m not prepared to pay for their credit card fees thank you very much. If you’re not charged this amount at the counter then why online? It seems ridiculous and I don’t understand it.
I’d like an explanation by Ster Kinekor as to why they are charging this fee and what they intend to do about it. If anyone knows who to speak to there please tell me so I can forward this to them.

In between the excessive amount of work I’ve had in the last few days (thus no updates) I’ve become aware of a very alarming development in our country. The government is looking to institute a new law where all school children will be expected to recite a school pledge every morning. The pledge in its current form looks like this:

“We the youth of South Africa, recognising the injustices of our past, honour those who suffered and sacrificed for justice and freedom.
“We will respect and protect the dignity of each person, and stand up for justice.
“We sincerely declare that we shall uphold the rights and values of our Constitution and promise to act in accordance with the duties and responsibilities that flow from these rights.”

Firstly who actually has the time to come up with this rubbish? I’m not really sure what on earth a school pledge will achieve in any way? Which useless civil servant came up with this rubbish? Seriously it’s absolutely ridiculous that they even thought of this. The worst part of the matter is the government had to pay a department to come up with the pledge who most likely outsourced this at a huge cost. Taxpayer’s money spent well. It strikes me as an absolute waste of money when there are vastly more pressing issues for government to spend their money on. While I doubt this cost billions it’s not going to come cheap if it gets implemented and the question is: “What the hell for?” This is a typical ANC vanity project by the looks of things and leads to nothing more than gratification for our government.

Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, came up with these words of wisdom: “Those are universal values that you would want any human being to attach themselves to.” I usually think Pandor is one of the better ministers in our incompetent, corrupt government but this is an absolutely ridiculous statement on her part. The Pledge has nothing to do with human rights and if she wants people to associate with human rights then add it in to the syllabus.

I guess my issue with the school pledge is the fact that the first association I have with the topic is how it reminds of something the Hitler Youth Movement would have said with a little less moaning about the Jews. The Pledge in its current form screams of indoctrination on behalf of the ANC government. I just feel like it is brainwashing a generation to be pro South Africa.

I do not understand why a government needs to promote a positive attitude towards your fellow man through a pledge; this should be a lead by example concept and is something the government is failing in miserably. Many other commentators have called this ANC brainwashing and while I’d like to say that is not true I cannot really find any other reason for the pledge.

I suppose at the end of the day my issue with this pledge is that it speaks about the past and for the current generation of learners it’s time to move on without the chains of the past holding them back

For those of you who have ever bought an Apple product in South Africa you’ll know that the pricing is exorbitant at best. The Core Group, Apple importers in South Africa are also the importers of Nintendo products. What this means is that the Wii console as well as the new Nintendo DS lite handheld console are also imported by Core.

The new DS is being released on the 15th of February at the highly disgustingly exorbitant price of 1850 rand. Fascinatingly the price in America for the exact same device is $129. This translates to a few bucks more than a thousand rand. This is the direct price after the rand got pummeled in exchange markets and dropped an entire rand to the dollar.

The numbers never lie and frankly this just shows you how Core is robbing the South African consumer. When they arrived in the country with the Wii at around two and a half grand I was shocked and appalled at how expensive it was priced. Frankly the reason crime is so high in South Africa is because it’s legalised here! Every time I buy a tech product I get robbed!

The whole reason the DS is the best selling console in the world is due to its cheap price and high level of fun. In addition to the high price of the console the games cost around four hundred rand which again is a travesty.

The Core Group are the most useless, incompetent, lazy and ineffective company in South Africa but yet seem to have a huge amount of money due to bringing in the most sought after products. It’s just typical that we get ripped off here.

Nintendo DS top tip: Go buy the games from Take2 which has better imported games at a cheaper rate.

Now I don’t have a problem with the Commission going after bread manufacturers but I do have a problem with who they do not prosecute.

The Commission fined the car industry a while back finding that their prices were excessively high and what did they do on the issue? Well cars are still excessively priced and nothing has been done. I guess the two times I’ve ever heard of the commission is the car incident and the recent bread price fixing scandal.

This week they’ve decided to go after milk producers for potential collusion. Not only do they collude but also  sell excess milk produced to each other instead of to the consumer at cheaper prices. While it does make sense for the Commission to go after the milk, bread and other staple food producers there are some issues with their sudden voracious attacks on primary goods producers.

So here’s my issue: why the hell do we hear about the Competition Commission occasionally when there are so many companies that need to be regulated. Firstly there are the government entities such as Telkom and Eskom. These are two of the most incompetent and disgusting companies that do next to nothing and make the government lots and lots of money. Why does the competition’s commission not do anything about it?

The Competition Commission is obviously a government entity and the ANC government feels to need only to care about the lowest common denominator in this country: the extremely poor. There must be a certain irony that the year before elections the Commission jumps into action, years after it was last in the news for doing anything useful, to defend the interests of the poor. There are so many industries that require collusion related regulation and frankly it annoys me that areas such as banking and the motor industry are left to gouge the consumer dry through collusion and price fixing. The government however has no need to sort out the car industry as they gain massive income from the taxation of cars.

So you see, the problem here is that like most government entities, the Competition’s Commission is towing a governmental line and much like government being vastly incompetent and ineffective. They sued Tiger Brands 99 million rand for the bread price fixing scandal and I shudder to think where the money could have gone: there are so many expense accounts for parliamentary ministers that 99 million rand can simply be absorbed into.

No poor person affected by the price fixing will ever see a cent of that money and that’s typically sad in my opinion.

As I said earlier today in the news there are reports that Eskom and the big gold mines are negotiating a settlement whereby Eskom will provide uninterrupted power to the mines in exchange for these mines lowering their power usage by ten percent. The issue here is the ridiculous clause in that Eskom can’t actually provide uninterrupted power so they will inform the mines four hours before power will be cut off.

So this is the future huh?

Can you imagine building a new house in the next few years… Not only will you need to have a building inspector but also an Eskom employee who will negotiate how much power you can use. I can imagine the situation:

Eskom employee: “So what is the purpose of this building”
You: “Home office Sir”
Eskom employee: “So it would seem that you have four lights in this office. I’ll make you a deal: remove one lamp and we’ll tell you four hours before the power goes off so you can turn your expensive generator on. Deal?”
You: “Bastard!”

As we can see from the somewhat stylized attempt at humour above I have actually discovered the real reason behind load shedding. Eskom, being a government owned company is under directives from the head honchos above them to provide more jobs. With the insane amount of building going on and the amount of offices and homes being inhabited these days thousands upon thousands of new employees will be needed to go “police the power”. That is to say that those thousands of Eskom employees will need to be in constant contact with business and home owners negotiating power reductions in exchange for a more user friendly load shedding schedule. You see, what we face is not a power crisis but a massive employment drive and frankly that’s what the country needs. I’m really glad that we’re going to solve the employment problem and cut back on South Africa’s contribution to global warming.

Good job Eskom, you guys rock my world.

(the sarcasm ends here if you hadn’t noticed)