Vetnews | Julie 2024 48 « BACK TO CONTENTS The elections have come and gone and so far, so good – interesting times ahead. Nobody came anywhere near predicting the overall results and Jacob surprised most. We are entering the age of coalition governance and if one looks at countries with successful governments under coalition governance, the one outstanding feature is that political maturity is an essential requirement. Plenty of give and take! Are we ready for that? I very much doubt it with the extremists but then the unrest two years ago showed us what South Africans truly are. People stood together for the well-being of all irrespective of colour, creed or age. I do a lot of consulting outside of South Africa and often with investors who are well-fitted and very wise people; not sure that one could say controlling the finances of the world but definitely influencing it. Some three years back we were sitting chatting around some beers and a tropical sunset discussing South Africa’s future. There were plenty of negatives and requirements to make it all work. Overall, they were emphatic that the future was rosy provided we were prepared to wait for certain aspects. These on their own were fairly scary – the total demise of Eskom, depletion of infrastructure to the extent that the country was virtually ungovernable, the deterioration of finances to the extent that borrowings were reaching untenable amounts and a struggling middle-class population. Well, I think virtually all of these have come to pass. Why did these businessmen consider this critical? Easy, the government needed to be on their knees with nowhere to turn and in need of business to stabilize the sinking ship. Further, they were more than confident that once this stage was reached and the possibility of a stable government was in sight, money would pour in provided it was protected by business – the business would take over indirectly and run the country. Well, if we look at some of the State Owned Entities it is readily seen that they are on their knees. The railways are non-functional as are the harbours. We now don’t have a post office and the possibility of a functional medical system is remote. We certainly don’t have a functional Defence Force and the police force is a total disgrace. Then I came across the very distressing article, in the latest Farmers Weekly, by our own Paul van der Merwe positioning the veterinary profession in very real terms. And most disturbing was his statement “A second faculty can only be successful if the first faculty is fully operational. The current faculty is battling with a shortage of funds and lecturers. It should be noted that academia was the worst-performing group of veterinarians in the resilience survey. This was together with another article which stated that there had been a drastic drop in GDP and the major portion of this was the result of poor agricultural sector performance. This was directly attributed to Swine Fever, Avian Flu and the total lack of control of Foot and Mouth – all veterinary matters! Yes, SA is on its knees. The election surely showed us where we are at, with some definite surprises. The large drop in ANC support is one very interesting aspect. Political commentators stated that the signing of the NHS bill had cost the ANC dearly because many of the up-and-coming Africans now have private medical aid and are not interested in some second-rate system. Natal was overwhelmed by Jacob and his crew. There was a definite concern as to the future of this tropical paradise. And then we woke up to the possibility of a DA Premier and an IFP leader. Are these coalitions stable? One can only speculate and it is surely far too early to make definite statements in that regard, but one very positive sign was the financial indices which gained 3.5% within 24 hours of the suggested Government of National Unity. We can put hope and trust in the South African” Man in the Street” who has always been the stabilizing force in uncertain times. v Life plus 25 without parole Mike Lowry Mike Lowry has been in veterinary practice for "life plus 25" years. In this column, he shares his experiences and opinions. Regulars I Life plus 24 +25 Mike Lowry: mikelowry@heritagevet.co.za Pieter Grimbeek: pigvet@agrifarmacysa.co.za Asking all members of the class of 1974 to contact me or Pieter Grimbeek about a class reunion (potentially scheduled for OP in September 2024).
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