bitter or sweet, page-22

hi all and hello again gravscan,

I believe this has a direct relationship to fml - money invested in africa from australia takes away from money that might otherwise be invested here - including in fml.

This is right from the horses mouth on S Africa - it is from a straight as a gun barrel guy who is a good friend and is able to look at things objectively. I hope it helps some of you --I sent him the article in previous discussion for his opinion
- this is his reply


"Read the articles you sent....interesting....much is written about anyone returning "home" to RSA [ Rep South Afr.] ...the Govt puts its spin on these things. Little is said about the folk leaving but as to be expected, lots of fuss about those returning.
Leaving the country of your birth is never undertaken lightly...no matter what the circumstances...The grass always appears greener over there..whereever that may be. And usually it is. But with the GFC lots of expats have lost jobs and are finding the going tough....its then that the visible and invisible support network you left behind is missed. Youre on your own....cost of living is a lot higher in First World countries and as a newcomer you may not enjoy the benefits of the govts social support nerwork that the locals do. So I guess its natural to think of what was left behind.....take xxxxx and xxxx. He drove a Merc, xxxx a BMW, their daughter went to a private school, they lived in their own house...double storey,4 bedrooms...all the bells and whistles..in an upmarket golfing estate. Sometimes after a glass or three of Johns finest, we discuss things as they were and wonder...just for a short while..if we all did the 'right' thing. Easy to forget the real reason for moving and focus on the superficial , material things.
The REAL reason....simply a better quality of life that offers opportunities to their kids that they would not enjoy back in the RSA.
The RSA economy is holding up...as is here its largely resource based...same profile of minerals too. China their main client. Farming less hazardous than here...fewer floods, no locusts etc. Govt stable with free and fair elections. So why not return....most of those that stayed look OK??
But if you dig a bit deeper things are not so rosy.......its difficult for 11 different ethnic groupes with a first and third world economy to exist happily together.
The govt is made up as you know of three parties.....much like the Coalition here. The ANC, the Communists and COSATU...the Congress of South African Trade Unions. All are to a greater or lesser extent Socialists..usually more so than less so..RSA has a massive unemployment problem....of all the annual school-leavers only about 10% will ever be employed in a formal job. The rest will join the small family business, start their own, or do odd casual work. They end up hopelessly under educated////trained with little hope of ever improving their lot. Sadly many turn to crime to survive......who can blame them!! But there is an underlying current of envy/ greed/ hatred....call it what you like....that makes so many of these young kids vicious and cruel. If you are home when a burglary takes place you will be assaulted even if you are passive and offer no resistance.
One of the things that finally decided xxxx to move was a failed carjacking of her and 3 yr old xxxx.....if the bad
ies had been succussful she and xxxx would have been sexually assaulted and most likely killed....very scary.
The govt has got to find a way to even the playing field....to take from the 'haves' to give to the .'have-nots' is no answer...
Take farming....RSA is a self sustaining country food wise...more or less anyway. To restore the balance to the 'have-nots' the govt devised a scheme whereby if you could prove that your tribe/clan were forcibly removed from your ancestral land by the early whie settlers, that land would be restored to you. A process was followed that was more or less fair...in theory anyway. These landclaims almost always involved large profitable commercial farms......much heartache for those farmers.....some of these props had been in the fam. for generations. The last I report I saw on these takeovers was that a high %age had failed....only subsistance farming was taking place. How do you get a tribe of a couple of hundred people with little or no formal agric. training, no capital and no real business experience, to make a go of their new-found wonderland. Too liile support by the govt. . Many radicals favour a Zimbabwe style takeover of all land.
So Agric is under stress.
Mining is holding up. But gold mines involve deeplevel mining....very, very costly to set up new ones and also costly to maintain existing ones. All the big players are still there...but without exception have moved their HOs to London etc. Got to ask why ? Again nationalisation ala Zim could be an issue. But not for now.
A political group that is simmering beneath all this....surfaces regularly...is the ANC Youth Brigade. Very militant, very right=wing...One bullet, one farmer is one of their many nasty slogans......and with farm murders averaging 2 or 3 a month.....plus the huge unemployed under 25 yr olds....they have a large following. The govt is powerless to control them. They favour a Mogaby style govt.....rule by decree.....bugger the west and all it stands for, get rid of the whites.. Time will tell but I fear they will one day wield more power than they do today.
The ruling party enjoys a huge majority...control well over 60% of all seats , so a radical change in govt is unlikely in the forseable future.
Apartheid was cruel and unjust.....but what replaced it is affirmative action. Again good in theory. A chance for the previously disadvantaged to enjoy their day in the son. But all it does is discriminate against the whites...especially white males who are seen as the bad guys in all of this.
Crime and corruption have if anything got worse...more and more of our aged farming friends are moving to secure props, in towns....and finding it difficult to sell their farms both big and small. Corruption in all levels of govt is endemic....despite the new civil servant group being well paid.....way beyond their true worth. This is almost an African tradition...making money on the side!!! Maybe they saw those rotten whities doing the same thing.

So Pinto....after all this why return?? Africa has a magic about it and once its in your blood its hard to get rid of.
We love its beauty....mountains, beaches,the green veld [open grasslands ], its people...yes despite all the nonsence that goes on, the vast majority are decent honest folfk looking for a better life for all who live there.

Would we ever seriously consider returning.....NOT ON YOUR LIFE. "

Pinto -
Well, there you have it - would I rather invest in fml and coolgardie or would I rather go to africa?? - If some of the research is correct and the radicals harm mining (there has been talk of nationalization of mining by the young anc) and it spreads to the rest of africa - well, I tell you, coolgardie and TI look really good to me - even if the mining costs in some african countries look cheap - I reckon there is a reason why -- stability.
I say again, I really can't see riots in coolgardie unless the pubs run out of grog.

have a great night all

Pinto