Posted on 10/03/2012 2:23:27 PM PDT by blam
South Africa Is On The Brink Of Total Chaos As Strikes Are Leading To Fuel And Cash Shortages
Matthew Boesler
Oct. 3, 2012, 11:02 AM
The labor strikes that have engulfed the mining industry in South Africa in recent weeks have now spread to one of the country's most vital industries – trucking.
Without the trucking industry facilitating the flow of goods between purchasers and suppliers, things can get ugly pretty quickly, as they did in the U.K. in 2001 when truckers went on a similar strike and brought the British economy to the brink.
Truckers are already entering their second week of strikes in South Africa, and the economy is beginning to show cracks in the facade.
Now, ATMs are running out of cash.
Gas stations are running out of fuel.
Hospitals are running out of vital supplies.
This comes via Sibongile Khumalo, a correspondent in South Africa for the Agence France Presse:
The strike has halted the delivery of goods across the country, as more than 20,000 workers dig in on their demand for higher wages.
Fuel pump stations have begun to dry up in several areas in Gauteng province, the country's economic centre, according to the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA).
"Some garages in Gauteng have been reporting fuel shortages since this past weekend," said Fani Tshifularo, the association's spokesman.
"Unfortunately garages do not keep large reserves of fuel on premises, so shortages are likely to occur faster," he said.
Meanwhile, hospitals are no longer receiving shipments of coal that they use to provide power, and they are now burning through reserve stocks.
And Khumalo writes that "according to transport authorities, 80 percent of all freight in South Africa is conducted by road." That figure highlights why the trucking industry is
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Time for Whites and Zulu Tribesmen, together, to set things right! Order is needed—and dang quick.
Is there no black government anywhere which is not a cesspool of socialism and/or violence?
Surely, somewhere between Washington, DC and Elbonia there might be one - or not.
Apartheid never left. All that changed was who got the clean end of the stick.
“Freeeeeeee Nelson Mandela.
Freeeeeeeee Nelson Mandela.”
Dude, that's what gold is for!
Money is a medium of exchange. One barters it for goods.
One thing is for sure: I ain’t gonna play Sun City.
Something else to think about. Winter is coming up and I feel that it is going to be colder and wetter than normal across much of the country. I don’t have any real proof obviously since it hasn’t happened yet. It’s just a “feeling” I’m getting.
Swiped!
Hmmmm. Do these dumb truckers realize that they’re slitting their own throats? They will eventually be affected by the same shortages and unclean water that the rest of their country is suffering.
A 9 percent increase over 2 years is great. At least in America it is. Does anybody know what the inflation rate is in SA?
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