The wages of sin - 5 Feb 2013

No business can survive by selling its products for less than it costs to produce those same products. Hence, Agri SA reckons that the just-announced minimum wages for farmworkers will drive farmers to make tough decisions. As Johannes Möller, president of Agri SA says: "The 52% increase in the minimum wage for farmworkers, as announced by the Minister Oliphant ... will have drastic implications for this sector and related industries." It's also as well for farmworkers and Cosatu to realise once and for all, that it is government that sets the minimum wage.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has vowed to strengthen public order policing, and says public order policing in South Africa needs to reflect the ethos of human rights and dignity. Not before time, but it will be an uphill battle, given the somewhat less than stellar record when it comes to police brutality directed at the public, suspects and protesters... Tatane and Marikana spring to mind.

One cannot help but feel that Eskom knows that they will never get the massive hikes they are demanding, but on the basis of go in high and settle for less, the Eskom public hearings kicked off in Gauteng. More than one player pointed out what impact such hikes will have on poverty, investment and a range of other issues, if granted.

Perhaps one of the first things Eskom could do is stop placing ads on TV telling us how great they are and how they care about us.

Chris Moerdyk asks whether there is light at the end of the Telkom tunnel, and points that perhaps... there is... and that is good news for consumers who for decades have been subjected to call and internet costs that are way out of kilter with what is reasonable.