The gradual decline across the three arms and spheres of government can consistently be traced back to people who firstly, do not possess the requisite skills, experience and qualifications for the roles they occupy. Secondly, are unethical and unaccountable even with the requisite skills, experience and qualifications and lastly, consistently fail to institute consequence management where wrongdoing has been identified.

Although the SARB held the policy rate at 7% in July (a much-welcomed decision), it was a close call, with two of its six committee members voting for a hike. If global oil prices stay high, the SARB may be forced to hike again before the end of the year - a move that would compound the cost‑of‑living pressures on households already burdened by elevated debt‑service costs.

The bottom line? The middle‑class squeeze is not just a temporary fuel shock. It is also driven by structural costs (housing, transport, and insurance) that do not respond quickly to interest rate changes. Even as headline inflation cools in future, the burden on Middle‑Income households will persist.

“The system is offline.” Not a single South African can claim to have never heard these words. It’s almost always when one is at wit’s end from queueing in a snaking government department line. We casually declare that our whole system is broken. We can list the public issues exacerbated by a lack of good governance with our eyes closed: the cost-of-living crisis, municipal failure, water supply anxieties, unbridled corruption and the deep red shadow of state capture. We know what bad governance feels like.

Some notable achievements by the policy include; dramatically growing the black middle class from 1.7 million people in 2004 to approximately 12 million (depending on the income bracket inclusions or exclusions) by 2022.