Reporters at Ramaphosa’s Friday presser tell us the embattled president intends doubling down on the Automotive Production and Development Programme, successor to the Motor Industry Development Programme.
A report in Business Day this morning says Ramaphosa described the motor industry as one of SA’s ‘crown jewels’ arguing it supports an ‘activist’ economic role for the State. Pure Marianna Mazzucato, the lefty prof who is CR’s high priestess of SA economic policy.
You have to wonder at the numeracy levels of those doing the celebrating. Or whether they’ve considered what underlies all this is that SA motorists pay an astonishing 30% more for their (locally-made) vehicles because of Govt-imposed duties. That subsidises those buying SA’s uncompetitively built exported cars.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___Plus, as a result of SA’s 30% more expensive vehicles (and no annual roadworthy) they’re on the road for longer. Unsafe vehicles play a direct role in SA’s world record rate of road accident fatalities. Join the dots Cyril. Properly this time. Subsidies always carry serious unintended consequences. Sometimes deadly.
More for you to read today:
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- Ukraine Fears Defeat in East Without Surge in Military Aid. Russia advances in Donbas region as U.S., allies prepare to discuss new heavy-weapons supplies for Kyiv.
- Elon Musk’s sister woos viewers with a passion for romance. Tosca Musk is the founder of Passionflix, a romance streaming service that has raised almost $22 million so far.
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