While watching The Mikado in Concert last weekend, a revival of the famous political satire of bureaucratic incompetence, I found myself laughing, then cringing, and finally thinking of the uncomfortable parallels with governments in South Africa and the USA. Sometimes it feels as if our bureaucracy, like so many others across the world, does not just move slowly; but seemingly performs slowness as if it were an art form. 

The US has given us a deadline: 1 August. That’s when citrus, steel, car parts, and a whole range of other South African exports become 30% more expensive in the US market. And what’s our game plan? The all-too-common South African tendency of avoiding making hard political choices and tough decisions in favour of just muddying along. It took 47 days after the announcement of so-called Liberation Day tariffs on 2 April for South Africa to even get in the room for a controversial, often wildly off-topic meeting at the White House on 19 May. While in Washington, we presented a “Framework Deal” that ticked all the boxes: calls for exemptions on key exports like autos, auto parts, steel, and aluminium; suggestions for tariff rate quotas; a plea to cap tariffs at 10% as a worst-case scenario; and provisions for SMEs, off-season products, and items not readily available in the US. 

Then came another long pause. 51 more days of diplomatic drift until the original 9 July deadline came and went. Businesses continued to work under this cloud of uncertainty until we heard that the import tariff duties will only be implemented on 1 August. But that is this Friday.  

And yet, here we are with no final deal and no clear direction. Some minister’s phones go unanswered, and the Presidency remains quiet. Of course, there are hardworking cabinet members and officials taking this issue seriously, trying to bring the urgency this moment demands. But still, it feels like, as a country, we’re flying blind with no clear articulation of strategy, no roadmap, no real sense of what the country’s plan is going forward. 

The stage is set, but the lead actors haven’t arrived. 

But then there is the other side, which is the difficulty in dealing with President Trump himself.  

This 30% tariff wasn’t announced through formal diplomatic channels. It was floated during a late-night campaign rally in Ohio, confirmed on Truth Social, and half-retracted by the Commerce Secretary the next morning. The White House press office still doesn’t know if South Africa is being penalised for specific violations like the ICJ Case against Israel or just swept up in the general “America (and some SA farmers) First” theatre. 

If Pretoria is performing The Mikado, Washington is staging a choose-your-own-adventure version of King Lear, complete with frequent ad breaks and plot contradictions. 

But this isn’t a weekend satire for entertainment’s sake. This is real life with real, high-impact consequences. 

Many sectors stand to lose jobs, companies to lose profits, towns to lose hope and citizens to lose livelihoods while trying to put food on South African tables. And it’s not due to a global downturn or supply chain crisis. It’s because certain elements in our government are stuck in rehearsal, fighting for parts.  

In moments like this, having a strong communications and advocacy strategy is the best way to be heard. With no leadership abroad and no urgency at home, businesses are turning to firms that understand how to navigate increasingly complex government regulations and international trade dynamics. Firms that know how to raise the right issues with the right officials and apply pressure where it matters, to act in the national interest before the final act begins. 

And so, as the curtain rises, South Africa once again takes the stage in its signature role: the bureaucratic understudy, forever rehearsing, never quite ready for opening night. 

– Victoria Tompkins  
Account Manager