OUT TO LUNCH

I’ve always considered Mandy Wiener one of our finer journalists. She is genuinely a best selling author, a multiple award winning journalist and a seasoned broadcaster who currently presents the Midday Report on Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk. Her interviews are slick and professional and her research into the seedier goings on of the South African underworld is meticulous. She also writes a weekly column for Primedia’s Eyewitness News online site.

Last week she wrote a column suggesting that Elon Musk is the USA equivalent of the Gupta Brothers in South Africa. As a piece of woke, lefty ‘Musk-hate journalism’ it is superb and Mandy’s controllers must be well pleased with her. But as a piece of analysis it has zero credibility and certainly doesn’t enhance Mandy Wiener’s previously well deserved reputation as an informed and fair commentator. ___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Mandy’s chief argument seems to be that Musk is the richest man on earth and the Guptas, although nowhere near as rich, both used their wealth to influence the media and sway public opinion in their favour and, thereby, consolidate their power. So there’s no difference between the two in her opinion and the idea of Elon Musk holding a powerful position in the new Trump administration is exactly the same as the influence the Guptas held over then President Zuma and was the cause of state capture.

Except, didn’t the Gupta’s extract large amounts of South Africa’s wealth for their own selfish ends and then do a runner to Dubai to escape justice? Or was that just a right-wing rumour? And I doubt whether The Donald needs a cash kickback from Elon to install a ‘firepool’ at home.

That an experienced journalist could get a story so wrong is mind boggling but I guess if you are blinded by irrational hatred then the last thing you would want is facts getting in the way of a good piece of fiction.

Whether or not you happen to be a fan of Elon Musk you would surely admit that his contribution to mankind is rather different from that of the Gupta family. Like many eccentric visionaries before him (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs) he was bound to alienate a lot of people along the way, but his commercial achievements are way ahead of anything the Guptas could ever dream of. Sahara Computers was hardly a world leading brand comparable to Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink.

To infer, as Mandy does, that Musk’s close proximity to the Trump administration means that the world richest man is going to start stealing from the US taxpayer is utter bilge. Any incoming administration would surely welcome the support of a provenly successful businessman. Musk’s companies generate huge tax revenues and, in the case of SpaceX, savings, for the US Treasury, and he spent a large amount of his own money supporting the Republican cause. The Guptas’ money flow on the other hand was significantly one way: out towards them rather than in.

Political parties cosying up to big business isn’t a uniquely American trait though. When the ANC first came to power in 1994 they wisely brought together several key business figures to advise and smooth the transition. One of these was the late Derek Keys who was a very senior and highly respected business figure. He was appointed Minister of Finance and passed on some of his skills to his successor Trevor Manuel. Back then South Africa enjoyed an unexpected period of probity and prosperity.

Mandy also seems to have a problem with the fact that Musk has been appointed as head of the non governmental Department of Government Expenditure (DOGE) along with the equally dynamic Vivek Ramaswamy. The sole aim of DOGE is to reduce wasteful government expenditure and bring miscreants to book. The fact that it will also axe plenty of unnecessary jobs, and inflated tenders, is clearly spooking the Democrats and the sort of people who cruise through life as a well remunerated government employees or contractors providing very little in return. We know all about that in South Africa.

With US debt at around $36 trillion a saving of $2 trillion just a start, but it does send a message to the 75 million people who voted Republican that the new government has heard them. It would be a pretty good idea for South Africa to appoint a DOGE here because there is plenty of work to be done. But that can never happen because too many owners of politically connected snouts will become upset. Look at the tepid reaction from the National Procrastinating Authority to the Zondo Commission’s report if you want to get some idea of how successful a private sector businessman would be in identifying and reducing government wastage.

Since Elon isn’t short of a buck or two I doubt whether his motives for hanging around with The Donald at Mar-a-Lago have anything to do with wanting to extract cash from the new administration. Anti Muskers suggest that the US taxpayer will be funding his projects but so what? If the South African government spent taxpayer’s money funding projects run by successful businessmen rather that pissing it all up against the wall with a huge portfolio of bankrupt state-owned enterprises run by unqualified cretins then we would all be happy.

The USA has a long history of being a capitalist society and South Africa has a thirty year history of being an anti-capitalist society with strong communist leanings. So it’s probably no surprise that Comrade Wiener finds the idea of a hugely successful businessman wanting to help a political party an anathema. It’s just not something we do down here on the southern tip is it? Just look at the private sector input for the disastrous NHI which has largely been rejected as ‘too white privilege’ inspired.

While the anti-Trump meltdown continues in the US I suppose it is only logical for fellow travellers in South Africa to clutch their pearls in sympathy every time Trump announces a new appointment. Pretty well everyone he wants in his new administration has been attacked by the woke left who rather oddly like to label themselves ‘progressives’. So progressive in fact that they can’t bring themselves to accept the results of a democratic election and want to sabotage the new administration before it even gets going. Rather like some of our joke political parties come to think of it.

The Hollywood haters who threatened to leave the US if Trump won seem to still be hanging around although I see that Barbra Streisand has threatened to leave the USA and live in England. I suggested last week that Trump should revoke the US citizenship of all these spoiled brats and give them 90 days to sell up and get out. In addition, he should order Hollywood studios to only use Computer Generated Images in future films. These days, thanks to AI, it’s perfectly possible to recreate the image and voice of any actor. This would not only save studios a fortune in actor’s fees but would also render events like the smug Oscars night obsolete. If you want to take the idea further Mr. President-elect, then you know where to contact me.

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A lawyer friend of mine in England has suggested, only half jokingly I suspect, that should I fly into the UK the Old Bill would want to have a word with me about my ‘non-crime hate incident’ comments on Twitter and in this column.

Apparently, the police in the UK have solved all the other crimes and now sit around all day twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do or painting their patrol cars in Pride colours. This has led to them visiting people who have put up ‘hate’ comments on social media following a complaint from a ‘victim’.

Although it is defined as a ‘non-crime hate incident’ this is really just Orwellian doublespeak because my voluntary interview with an officer of the law may well persuade them that a hate crime has been committed and that I need two years in the slammer as punishment for woke-shaming or fat shaming. So I don’t think I’ll bother to visit the UK for a while.