The Zimbabwe dollar was set on the slippery slope to hyperinflation when foreign exchange earnings from the very important farming sector started going into rapid decline.

One can say that mining is for South Africa what farming was to Zimbabwe, which is why Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland’s comments yesterday that the South African mining’s “equity model is at breaking point” is of serious concern.

The South African economy is regressing. As higher order industries (mining, farming and manufacturing) contract while lower order sectors grow (wholesale and retail), SA is travelling on risky mountain road with a debt bubble at the end of it, and hyperinflation off the cliff-edge.