23 December 2005 Editor's Note e-mail: fmeditor@fm.co.za Barney Mthombothi

It's that time of the year again when people get away from it all - go to the beach, on holiday, or just put their feet up and read a book. The tedium of everyday life grinds to a halt. It's time to recharge and reflect on the year that has just sped by unnoticed. Some make resolutions that every year, without fail, are not kept. I've outgrown such things. But as everybody knows, columnists - scoundrels that we are - believe it's our God-given right to tell others how to order their affairs. In keeping with such a noble tradition, therefore, I've taken the liberty to think up resolutions for other mortals. I trust my efforts won't be in vain. Jacob Zuma dominated the headlines this year, much to our embarrassment. In the new year he will hopefully become nothing but a memory - a bad dream. President Thabo Mbeki, I hope, will eventually pluck up enough courage to dismiss Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. She's gone beyond being a joke. She's an embarrassment and a danger to our health. Having seen off so popular a leader as Zuma, discarding the foundering Tshabalala-Msimang should be a cakewalk for Mbeki. He would then acquire a taste for the jugular, dumping all the laggards. The cabinet is teeming with candidates. Red Ronnie, for instance, has very kindly placed his neck on the block. It's ready for the chop. The guy can't even protect his spooks, let alone control them. Mbeki should wield the axe. Mbeki has set his government taxing targets and yet he's been unwilling to retrench underperforming ministers. Reshuffles are the only effective way presidents bring minions into line. He can't do everything on his own. And he just hasn't got much time left. The sun is slowly setting on his presidency. I hope, too, that Blade Nzimande finds himself something useful to do in the new year. He's flogging a dead horse at the SACP. He may not have noticed, but the Berlin Wall fell 16 years ago. Business, too, has some major issues to resolve in the new year. Certain sectors have lost public trust in spades this year. The life insurers, for instance, have been made to run the gauntlet by Vuyani Ngalwana, who not for the first time graces our cover this week. More power to his elbow. But they aren't alone. What passes for a cellphone industry is to all intents and purposes a cartel. The motor industry got a slap on the wrist for business malpractices. Consumers are burdened with high bank charges. Stability of the sector is the authorities' overriding concern. The challenge for business is to make a profit without the public getting the sense they're being ripped off. The FM is back on January 13. Meanwhile - enjoy. Don't overindulge.