Buckle up for a rough ride, but this too shall pass

Among all the predictable chaos emanating from SA's Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's dismissal, yesterday also provided two very different but also rather similar interviews. The first, with numerologist Sandy Smith, was supposed to be a bit of fun, unpacking what her analysis says lies ahead in 2016. But the more she spoke, the more her forecasts resonated, gelling with the results of more traditional thought processes.

Then, a late afternoon call to deeply rational author and academic RW Johnson left me feeling decidedly uncomfortable. Which tends to happen when someone with Johnson's intellect takes you unemotionally through the country's dodgy position and rocky immediate future. His forecasts haven't changed much from those articulated in the best-selling How Long Will SA Survive. Except that, if anything, he believes the day of reckoning has edged a little closer.

Smith believes the sun will start shining on SA in the second half of next year. Johnson remains optimistic that the incredible people who inhabit this country will pull the nation through. Very different backgrounds and thought processes. But similar conclusions. Fascinating, isn't it?