WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-04-20 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
[Yep, the first cold winds are blowing. I went outside tonight and a nice chilly wind was blowing. People will be switching on heaters… and then of course it will put a nice big load on the electricity grid… so the rolling blackouts will start… So, it will be a fun winter with rolling blackouts and people sitting in the cold and the dark!! BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE ANC WHILE THEY WASTE OUR MONEY AND LIVE A GREAT FLIPPING LIFE!! Jan]
South African consumers are facing a “winter of discontent” that is expected to get worse.
Interest rates, rising inflation, higher food and petrol prices will result in many having their homes and cars repossessed because they can no longer afford to pay for them, warned Goolam Ballim, the chief economist with Standard Bank.
“It is genuinely going to be one of the darkest winters for South Africa. People are going to lose their homes and cars,” he said.
He said efforts by the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee to control inflation and curb spending would affect consumers at least until 2009.
| ‘People are going to lose their homes and cars’ |
Ballim said the government could ease some of the pressure on consumers by injecting investment into the economy from money allocated in the Budget for capital projects, such as transport and other infrastructure, thus creating jobs.
On Thursday, Statistics South Africa released data showing that the number of bad debts had risen by 17 percent in February compared to the same period a year ago.
This confirmed the fears of banks and retailers, which had reported higher than usual incidents of customers defaulting on home loans, car repayments, credit cards and retail accounts.
Stats SA said the 17 percent increase for debts had resulted in 60 920 judgments worth R560-million – the first time it had found an increase since October 2007.
The largest contributors to the civil judgments were for loans and acknowledgements of debt.
| Interest rates have been hiked by a total of 450 basis points since mid-2006 |
Ina Wilken, the deputy chairperson of the South African National Consumer Union, said the national credit laws were having a negative impact on consumers and preventing them from consolidating debt, but the direct contributory factors to hardship were interest rates and rising food and fuel costs.
If Eskom was successful in increasing the electricity tariffs by 60 percent it would get worse, Wilken said.
“It really is awful for consumers. Banks are turning them down for loans, many are already having their houses and cars taken away because of non-payment and many more will end up in a similar situation because things are just getting worse.”
Two weeks ago, Tito Mboweni, the Reserve Bank governor, announced the repo rate would go up to 11,5 percent, with banks pushing up interest rates to 15 percent, a five-year peak because of worsening inflation, and Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff hikes have added to the worsening outlook.
Interest rates have been hiked by a total of 450 basis points since mid-2006.
Gavin Opperman, the managing executive of Absa Home Loans, said the latest hike would further negatively influence the affordability of housing, making it harder for consumers to service debt, putting even more pressure on the already stretched financial position of households.
“The higher rates [will] dampen activity in the housing market, which came under additional pressure with the implementation of the National Credit Act in June last year,” he said.
The 450 basis point increase in interest rates since June last year has caused the average monthly repayment on a mortgage loan to rise by 32 percent, Opperman said.
Marcel de Klerk, the managing executive of Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance, said the current economic situation has already pushed vehicle prices up, which in turn affects the affordability of vehicles.
“Debt servicing costs will rise further, putting more pressure on households, especially the lower and middle markets,” he said.