The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used radiotelephone spelling alphabet. In creating the alphabet, the ICAO assigned codewords acrophonically to the letters of the English alphabet, so that letters and numbers would have distinct names that would be most easily understood by those who exchange voice messages by radio or telephone, regardless of language differences or the quality of the communication channel. (Acrophony is the naming of letters of an alphabetic writing system so that a letter’s name begins with the letter itself.)

As our global village expands, the increased challenges of accents, pronunciations, and articulations have extended its use to our everyday life. The South African economy is in Delta, India, Romeo, Echo, Sierra, Tango, Romeo, Alfa, India, Tango, Sierra, which spells dire straits. That is polite phrasing for its actual unprintable state.

In the interesting times that we live, ironically a Chinese curse, arising from a pandemic of Chinese origin, South Africa still has not lost its affinity and lustre for conceptualising economic plans. It plans and plans, but implementation is quite another matter. The perpetual repetition of Walt Disney’s words, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Only in South Africa’s instance, the dream is both the beginning and the end.

The most recent of plans, largely unseen, is the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) Economic Recovery Plan. Before becoming bedazzled with the ‘plan’, it is important to understand what an ‘economic recovery’ actually is.

An ‘economic recovery’ is the phase of an economic cycle which follows a ‘recession’. If the latter ‘r’ word – recession – rings any bells, you might recall that in the column of September 18, “Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia” South Africa had recorded four negative quarters of economic growth, even before accounting for Covid-19 having taken its toll on the economy. Or as I coined it – ‘Recession Square’, because although there is no economic definition of a recession, an economy is considered to be in one following two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.

It seems quite unfortunate, and devoid of reality, to consider an ‘economic recovery’, when another quarter of negative economic growth is highly likely. The only possible saving grace for reversing the economy’s negative growth, is when the last quarter of economic growth is higher than the previous quarter. Considering that the economy is in its fourth quarter of negative economic growth, the economic disaster is even more evident when comparing the last quarter with the very first quarter.

An economic recovery is the phase during which an economy regains and exceeds peak employment and output levels prior to downturn. Such a phase is typically characterised by abnormally high levels of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, employment and so on.

As for Nedlac’s ‘employment-centred growth’ plan, according to the Daily Maverick’s ‘Nedlac Recovery Plan Pivots On Public Jobs, Broadband and Big Competition for Eskom’ of September, 16: “The trade-off for more employment (by the private and public sectors) is that the parties agree to “review employment and empowerment-related policy and legislation”; and “The plan will be overseen by a Presidential working committee. Leaders from business, labour and civil society – five-a-side – will meet monthly to make sure it is not reduced to another talk shop.”

If we accept the pipe dream – an unrealistic or fantasy – of a recovery, what type of economic recovery is envisaged? Is it a “V-Shaped Recovery: Quick Bounce”, or a “U-Shaped Recovery: Slow Recovery”; or a “L-Shaped Recovery: No Return to Normal”?

It would be helpful when, once the ‘Nedlac Economic Recovery Plan’ is spelt out in greater detail, to unpack the type of economic recovery being envisaged. If the engine of the economic recovery is actually to be ‘employment-centred growth’ then, depending on your persuasion, it would be either Uniform, or Lima, but more likely a Lima.

Should you not want to be disappointed by the envisaged economic recovery, heed the words of the American poet Sylvia Plath: “If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed”.