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Speaker 1: A suggestion this week from Casey Spray market strategist tot

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Speaker 1: Ag Capital that the Public Service Amendment Bill could actually

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Speaker 1: be a game changer for our economy and it's something

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Speaker 1: that investors on missing cases on the line for you now, Casey,

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Speaker 1: good evening and thanks for your time. So, I mean,

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Speaker 1: the bill does quite a few things. The big thing,

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Speaker 1: the political thing it does is it makes it illegal

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Speaker 1: for politicians, for public officials, for a minister, for example,

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Speaker 1: to influence who's appointed as their officials. Officials are no

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Speaker 1: longer politicized. Now that I would expect would make it

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Speaker 1: a difference to governance and therefore be a big political issue.

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Speaker 2: Why do you think it's a market story?

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Speaker 3: Oh, good evening, and thanks for having me on the

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Speaker 3: show today. I mean, and to put it into simple terms,

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Speaker 3: the bills really designed to basically end CADRA deployment as

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Speaker 3: a structural feature of how government operates within our economy.

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Speaker 3: And from a market perspective, it's important to bear in

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Speaker 3: mind that the SMP upgraded South Africa for was back

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Speaker 3: in November last year to double B status and that

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Speaker 3: was the first time in nearly sixteen years that we

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Speaker 3: had a major credit rating agency actually upgrade US and

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Speaker 3: from there on we now see that agencies are ready

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Speaker 3: watching whether that reform momentum is real or cosmetic. And

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Speaker 3: this type of bill that you know, still needs to

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Speaker 3: actually be signed by President Rama Pausa, but signing this

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Speaker 3: bill would really give rating agencies a legislative anchor, and

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Speaker 3: that would really be proof that government's reform is actually

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Speaker 3: structural and not just talk, which of course has been

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Speaker 3: a major feature for US for a while over a

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Speaker 3: decade now, and it's really important because you know, better

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Speaker 3: ratings at the end of the day mean lower borrowing

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Speaker 3: costs for government, which means less pressure on the fiscus

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Speaker 3: and ultimately less pressure on taxpayers as well.

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Speaker 1: So I mean, this is one of those things that

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Speaker 1: would prove this is not just about Sara Rama Pausa

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Speaker 1: as president. This will outlive him. This is going to

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Speaker 1: change the country and government for generations to come.

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Speaker 2: Is that sort of the point?

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Speaker 3: I mean, the ball is really being described as one

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Speaker 3: of the most significant governance reforms we've seen since the

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Speaker 3: nineteen ninety six Constitution. I mean that spy no means

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Speaker 3: sort of a hyperbole, and it's it's strange to me

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Speaker 3: that almost nobody's talking about it, and that markets are

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Speaker 3: sort of looking past it at the moment, a sort

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Speaker 3: of can't you know, understate the importance.

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Speaker 2: Of such a ball.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know why it hasn't signed it yet,

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Speaker 1: but I imagine it'll come. We've seen casey quite a

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Speaker 1: bit of reform over the last couple of years, and

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Speaker 1: we add this.

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Speaker 2: To the list.

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Speaker 1: Is there a kind of compounding effect that we can

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Speaker 1: look forward to, so they build on each other. It's

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Speaker 1: reform upon reform, and should that start to really cumulative, cumulatively,

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Speaker 1: but almost more than cumulatively, start moving the needle on

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Speaker 1: our economy, start making us a lot more attractive. So

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Speaker 1: this is this is an important story, but this is

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Speaker 1: part of a much bigger story that's kind of beginning

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Speaker 1: to compound.

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Speaker 3: Yes, one hundred percent, and then really, as you mentioned,

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Speaker 3: a compound that it follows from one another in all

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Speaker 3: elements of our economy. So if we think about the RAND,

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Speaker 3: the bard markets, foreign investment flows, et cetera, all of

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Speaker 3: these really benefit from it a credible reform story, and

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Speaker 3: this type of ball would really be a major chapter

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Speaker 3: of that story. And if you break it down to

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Speaker 3: a little bit more detail. For the equity market for instance.

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Speaker 3: You know, the payoff of such reform measures is less direct,

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Speaker 3: but no less real if you think, you know, improved

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Speaker 3: governess reduces the risk of state entity blow ups that

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Speaker 3: create fiscal shocks, which really matters for banks for example,

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Speaker 3: carrying you know, rising sovereign exposure, and for any sector

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Speaker 3: really dependent on functioning public infrastructure. And you know, to

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Speaker 3: touch on the rand again, selous is always topical. It's

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Speaker 3: you know, really benefited from improved sentiments and portfolio inflows

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Speaker 3: beginning of the year, of course, you know, barring the

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Speaker 3: duipolitical shocks we're seeing at the moment. And this type

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Speaker 3: of reform measures really just helps get another structural pillar

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Speaker 3: underneath that, and it really starts to have you know,

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Speaker 3: split of effects that touch everyday consumers like yourself and myself.

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Speaker 1: So it's one thing to sign it into law, and

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Speaker 1: I can understand why, as you've explained that markets.

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Speaker 2: Should react to that.

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Speaker 1: It does need to actually happen though, in other words,

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Speaker 1: it needs to be followed. And this is one of

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Speaker 1: those laws it's actually quite difficult to make to follow

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Speaker 1: the implementation, It's not going to be obvious.

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Speaker 2: People will have to sort of see.

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Speaker 1: So it'll be obvious for directors general, but it won't

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Speaker 1: be obvious for any other official.

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Speaker 3: Ready, Yeah, I think first and foremost, if the President

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Speaker 3: actually delays or fails to design the bill, that itself

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Speaker 3: would send a bit of a signal that political will

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Speaker 3: for reform has limits, and we really sort of undermine

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Speaker 3: again that credibility that I mentioned that's really supported the

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Speaker 3: most sort of recent upgrade and general positive market sentiments.

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Speaker 3: But again, you know, if sign you mentioned it, implementation

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Speaker 3: is everything. Legislation without enforcement changes nothing at the end

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Speaker 3: of the day, And it's a real test of whether

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Speaker 3: political interference simply sort of moves underground or stay sort

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Speaker 3: of out in the open. And I think that will

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Speaker 3: be the barometer that we can sort of gauge there

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Speaker 3: as a success success of the spy.

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Speaker 1: Really, Casey, thanks so much. Really appreciated Casey's sprak as

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Speaker 1: a market strategistic a g capital