From the oak tree-lined avenues of Stellenbosch comes advice to President Cyril Ramaphosa on what to say, or not, when he addresses us next week in his annual state of the nation ritual. Don’t bother to promise millions of jobs, concentrate on providing work instead, says former public protector Thuli Madonsela, the law trust chair in social justice at the University of Stellenbosch. She urges Ramaphosa, “when it comes to a business literacy grounding for government, let’s look to China for guidance”. She adds, though, that “you don’t need to govern like China’’. 

Not entirely bad advice, really, but the problem is you can’t have China’s record-busting economy without having its rotten form of government and social control too. It is a success that is built on the broken backs of millions. ..