Daily Insider: Idiocy of SA’s strike including monopoly with no contingency plan

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A BizNews tribe member who is a farmer, rightly took me to task after I opined last week that in the long-run, the Transnet strike was a good thing. Pretoria's move last year of bringing the private sector into the rail and port networks was prescient, I thought, so the benefits of a more efficient system will soon unleash pent up energy.

On the one hand, there can be no doubt Transnet's strike puts the final nail into the ANC's ridiculous "Developmental State" fantasy. After the spectacular implosions of SAA, Eskom and now Transnet, the lunacy of State-run monopolies is unquestionable. These disasters staffed by over-fed cadres will no longer be able to hold the SA economy hostage. That's progress.

The problem, however, an implosion on this scale causes massive collateral damage. So instead of being excited about the potential of the future, far more important right now is to minimise the destruction. Capital is cowardly. Every rand lost today as idiotic economic policies unwind, will still take years to attract back into the system.

Yesterday I interviewed Justin Mudge, a blueberry farmer and chairman of BerriesZA. What infuriates him most is Transnet had no contingency plan. Zero. And how there is no alternative for exporters. So while bureaucrats scored points against trade unionists, billions was lost as crops rotted in the fields or near SA's harbours. If you thought education was expensive, try ignorance.

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