The seemingly stringent – and laudable - requirements of a raft of supposedly protective laws from Fica to Rica have become an onerous burden on ordinary consumers. Meanwhile their very raison d’etre is eroded by the high-level government , criminal and business fat cats who seem exempted. This woeful imbalance not only opens door to mega-bucks corruption, but foments the mounting rage as the little guy suffers and the powerful and well-connected thrive.

When my ANC colleagues in Parliament told me Cosatu wanted my head on a plate, I had genuine problems understanding the reason they’re so upset. Turns out I’m just one of those bloody slave-trading labour brokers.

There are many good reasons why the DA and Cosatu should find themselves at the same table and work together for the benefit of South Africa. And yet, there are almost as many reasons why such coalition will not work.

Maybe the phrase “pipe dreams” should be changed to “train dreams” – certainly in the case of the vaunted Gautrain and accompanying BRT system. Less than 3,000 jobs and a few newish buildings do hardly a rich harvest make.

The biggest and most powerful city in Africa is plagued by a billing crisis, which is a national disgrace. Not only does it make a mockery of Joburg’s vaunted claims to being a “world-class African city”, but now threatens to have its mayor tied up in court battle after court battle. And all this despite a series of simple fixes waiting in the wings.

Urban sprawl and everything that goes with it are global crises, and rapidly approaching disastrous proportions in South Africa. Solving the problems is fraught with every conceivable problem – all the more reason to get started right away.

Marie Antoinette’s notorious remark when told the French masses were revolting because they had no bread to eat, was to say, “Then let them eat cake”. Not only was it the zenith of arrogance, but demonstrated the most reprehensible detachment from the realities of her people’s suffering. The idiom of having your cake and eating it (meaning to enjoy consuming something and yet to preserve it, like a never-emptying bottle of single-malt Scotch) is only a slightly different ...

It is a truism that history is written by the conqueror – or whoever rules at any given time. Even the origins of the Universe seem fraught with divergent “interpretations”. And if history that old can be messed with, what about recent history? Is consensus about history possible?

Starting and succeeding in small business is a huge gamble, but the risks can be hugely reduced with proper training. That – and not red tape or running interference – is what government should do to fire the booster rockets on our economic crisis.

South Africa faces two closely related crises: Unemployment and infrastructure collapse. By seriously, and intelligently, addressing the maintenance of infrastructure, government would take a huge step towards solving the problem it professes is its prime focus: Creating new jobs.