Governance in South Africa. I agree fully with your current assessment of the deterioration of governance in this country. My wife and I retired to St. Lucia, KZN some 14 years ago when Rand to GBP was 11, now almost 23. The present ANC administration under Jacob Zuma in the opinion of most thinking South Africans has been little short of disastrous. At the present time we have a power struggle going on in which the internationally respected finance minister is in danger of losing his job. We are also seeing a disturbing trend where sections of the population are fire bombing educational institutions. 27 schools in Limpopo province were torched a fortnight ago. In the face of this criminal behaviour the police seem unwilling or unable to take decisive action

And

?Governance in South Africa Post Script Both India and South Africa held general elections 2 years ago. One just needs to look at the chart for INR/ 1ZAR to see how the two countries have diverged in terms of governance in that time

Eoin Treacy's view

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I have had a warm regard for South Africa since holidaying in KZN in 2000 and again in 2002. Minority shareholder rights, a free press and an independent judiciary are all important considerations when considering what the status of governance is in a country. Black empowerment introduced a question about the continuity of South Africa’s standards of governance, albeit for laudable reasons, and the country has required closer attention to political events since. 

Zuma’s snap sacking of the Finance minister and rehiring him within 24 hours last December marked a significant deterioration in political stability. Populism is seldom a positive development but in the rainbow nation, where the majority bear significant animosity to the minority it could have very dangerous repercussions. 

As you point out the deterioration of the Rand, even against fairly weak currencies like the Rupee, is a sign investors share your concerns. By the same token the potential for political change could eventually represent a powerful potential catalyst for improving perceptions. Therefore the South African market is worth watching because the deterioration of the currency has the capacity to represent a massive competitive advantage once the Rand stops declining.