Alec Hogg: A day Brand SA will definitely want to forget

Yesterday wasn't one of Brand SA's better days. In the UK, millions were treated to a lengthy whine by former diplomat Michael Shipster's travails when returning to from Sunny South Africa. His article revelled under The Times's headline of "Grief. Guns. Guards. My hellish trip home from South Africa"..Read more: Alec Hogg: Netflix shares tank, triggers buying opportunity.Shipster (above), who had a spell at the British Consulate in SA, was in the country last month to comfort a dying brother-in-law. His return from the Covid Red List nation required a 10 day quarantine in a pre-allocated Third World hotel near Heathrow. Reading that part of the story almost evoked sympathy..But those emotions evaporated when SA's recent visitor shared how his host in Johannesburg "insisted on driving me everywhere I go…….every time he edged anxiously out of his barricaded fortress in his car with his Walther PPK 'James Bond's weapon of choice, you know' (I did) he truly believed that he was risking his life for me." Seriously? With "friends" like Shipster….___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Read more: Alec Hogg: The high cost of Pretoria's poverty mentality.On the other side of the Atlantic, the US News and World Report released its annual ranking of the world's best countries. Sterile Canada came top while SA fell two places to 41st, below Indonesia, Morocco, Costa Rica and Vietnam. Ludicrously, SA was ranked 63rd (of 78) on "Quality of Life". Ag nee man. Surely braaivleis, rugby, sunshine and low Covid deaths counts for something?.For your listening and viewing pleasure.Latest audio on BizNews Radio… (click on the link to access).BPH: Karooooo blunder with Chris Logan; Jean-Pierre Verster on food retailers; Sean Peche on Naspers; Kevin Lings on inflationFB: SA rich are getting poorer; gas power ships will be costly; Zim to promote trophy huntingMeet Zak Calisto, humble SA billionaire tech entrepreneurPiet Mouton – CEO of PSG Group shares prospects for group, SACorruption in SA: Is it really worse than in UK, Europe? Expert insightsEnglish star Emile Heskey ready to deploy $5bn in Africa investmentsDenker's Kokkie Kooyman on Daniel Mminele's departure as Absa CEO.Latest videos on BizNews TV… (subscribe on YouTube and daily at 5:30pm get to see all the studio action of BizNews Power Hour).Live in studio: BizNews Power Hour – 21 April 2021Trillian WHISTLEBLOWERS expose the other side of their coinThousands of new CT jobs at Amazon HQ; SA cryptocurrency ETF?

Alec Hogg: A day Brand SA will definitely want to forget

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