Let’s enjoy this brief period of economic sanity while it lasts

I've tackled some tough assignments in my career, turnarounds that, with hindsight, more experienced managers would have politely declined. These energy-sapping assignments were all subtly different. Yet in one respect identical – the bigger the challenge, the greater the freedom one is given to set things straight.

A similar movie is playing right now in Government. President Jacob Zuma and his closest confidantes have little affection for reinstated Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. But they are acutely aware he is the only person with the chance of fashioning a satisfactory result with the terrible economic hand he's having to play.

As a result, Gordhan has a free hand to do whatever it takes to rescue the national credit rating falling into junk status. There's no doubt a ratings-agency friendly Budget is being prepared, with Departmental holy cows slaughtered at will.

What I have also discovered though, was once the crisis had passed, one's freedom to focus on doing the right thing quickly ended. Once the listing ship has steadied, everyone once again fancies themselves as captain. But that's the challenge for a future date. Right now the nation should enjoy this period of economic sanity while it lasts.