Someone did a rough calculation for me the other day. The government bought (or is buying) 28 Gripen fighter bombers from Saab. They cost R500m each, about R14bn plus in total. Now, if you consider that the government, in its great wisdom, negotiated that the seller of the weapons would have to create offset investments of just over 400% of the value of the arms, then Saab owes us about R60bn. Take a little off that offset amount, because it would go into a defence offset deal, and you’re still left with about R40bn.

Let’s see. That’s about 20 new factories at an investment of R2bn each ­ pretty big factories. Let’s say a modest 700 workers at each R2bn factory. That’s 14000 jobs and let’s say each worker has about five (modest again) direct dependants. That’s 70 000 jobs, from which another 70 000 people could benefit indirectly.

But half a decade after these deals were signed, I don’t think I’ve seen an offset deal from Saab yet.

I’ve always been amused at how the cabinet ministers involved in the arms deal have so ferociously defended the legality of their actions. But that doesn’t hide the foolishness of their optimism about offsets.

The fact is R20bn in Saab offsets isn’t going to happen, ever, and someone might as well admit it now. The only way out would be for the Swedes to pay for the Gautrain.

Or, for the breast-beating Swedish financial community to get off its high horse about the Old Mutual bid for Skandia and support the South African bid. The Swedes ­ and let none of us allow them to forget it ­ owe us a mountain of money.

President Thabo Mbeki is making much, in the early run-up to local elections, of his drive against corruption. That is obviously good.

But when will we be blessed with any sign, however faint, that he just possibly, um, isn’t sure that the donation of R11m to the ANC for the last national elections was entirely kosher?

Remember (if you could possibly have forgotten), so-called businessman Sandi Majali asks the state oil company, PetroSA, for R15m as an advance to pay for some condensate for Mossgas. It isn’t important what condensate is. He (or his company, Imvume) gets the advance and promptly hands over most of it to the ANC for election funds.

The newspaper that reports this grotesque deal is subsequently placed under investigation by a police unit masquerading as a company (a passable excuse for behaving badly, I suppose).

Where’s Mbeki? Why is he so quiet on the Imvume thing? Why should we continue to believe he cares a jot about the looting of public money while he is so silent for so long about it in his own mansion?

You may have read the announcement that Business Day is launching a weekend edition from early next year. I think it’s great news for BD readers and I can promise you a top-quality newspaper. We’re going to call it The Weekender and while it’ll mean we all have to work harder on Fridays in the newsroom, the reward will be a really good read on Saturday morning. No more waiting ’till Sunday for Friday’s news, though the idea is to keep the edition on sale right through the weekend. Readers outside of Gauteng will, initially at least, probably have to subscribe and have The Weekender delivered on Sunday. It’ll still be worth it.

With acknowledgements to Peter Bruce and Business Day.