'Is there an ANC group that wants SA in junk territory?'

Max du Preez

Could it be possible that there is an interest group inside the ANC and government that actually wants the rating agencies to push us into junk territory? It surely is beginning to look that. But what could be the motivation?

At best we can say that the rent-seeking faction of President Jacob Zuma clearly don’t give a damn if a downgrade on Friday by Standard & Poor’s hurts the economy or not. He and his friends in politics and business are more or less immune. In any case, Zuma has proved that he is only concerned about his own short-term interests and not the ramifications of his actions for the country’s longer term future.