SARS wars:The explicit version

Are  you familiar with that toy called YO-YO? If the answer is yes, you are probably saying the rand is doing a pretty good job imitating the game played using that toy.  Since the Hawks summoned the minister of finance Pravin Gordhan to answer questions relating to the  SARS "rogue unit" that he helped set up, the rand is on a downward spiral. The local currency has lost more than one rand to the British pound and broken through the R14 mark against the US dollar.

Pravin Gordhan, at one stage was required to come in and play savior as the rand was in tartars but now this gallant national hero is facing such intimidation and harassment by the law. It may be that time is quick to forget or politics is the elephant in the room in all of this. Now the gigantic question is, who is behind all this saga? Again the compass points toward the first citizen, Jacob Zuma. I know it is kind of contradicting that an unschooled man of Zuma's stature who is sometimes ridiculed for making imbecile decisions is the master mind orchestrating this plot.

Where is the connection in all of this? lets link the dots. You might think Pravin is the victim in this bout but the fact of the matter is he attracted this investigation to himself by striking the hand that feeds him - the minister of finance failed to facilitate funds towards the controversial SAA deal and the most talked about nuclear deal with Vladimir Putin's Russia.

As it is mandated by law, the president may appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers. But the chop and changing of finance ministers is becoming more suspicious hence the legal route is a no brainer. That's why the less suspecting route to silence Gordhan is the legal route.

You may ask yourself, why now? It is easy, there's no time to waste as Zuma is facing the exit and hes in it for that retirement pay out.

president Zuma

Everything has repercussions and what are those consequences in this scene? They are frightening and adverse. If the rand continues to depreciate as it is, I am afraid investors will flee and the moody Moody's will declare us a junk status. The realities of being declared a junk status are too gloomy. In a nut shell, government will have to cut funds channeled towards social programmes like grants and other poverty alleviation programmes. Think Zimbabwe and other African countries. This example is not glamorous yet it is accurate. The unfortunate part is that the masses might become victims of poverty's wrath and not the wealthy thirsty individuals who are abusing their power.

In a statement released by the minister of finance, he said he won't honor the invite to the Hawks as there is no legal force that requires him to do so. Does this mean some members of this country can choose to be invisible in the eyes of the law just because they are public office bearers? The Hawks said the minister is not a suspect and I think if you're not a suspect, why waste precious time instead of doing your job.

Amid public fury and questions as to why the presidency is mute in this matter, the expected happened - we are the presidency and we react we don't act. The synopsis of the statement from the presidency was something like this, we support the minister but the president has no obligations to intervene in matters of independent bodies. This is not a fire that started somewhere in the mountains, I am taking about the future of this country here.

In this contemporary times where a strong currency is everything, I am very disappointed to witness officials playing yo-yo with the rand. The disappointing part is the fact that the first citizen is for the depreciation of the rand and in full pursuit of personal financial fulfillment.