Premium: Doubling down on misguided policy ‘success’ in SA motor industry

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.  

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