Radical

D plus 1

Kagiso hadn't slept at all. He had gone home with a bunch of food, even some airtime for Tshidi. His little sister had stared at him with questions in her eyes, but didn't ask anything directly.

She was doing well at school, but they'd only been back to the village once since their mother died, and Tshidi needed a female role model.

At least she had a good friend at school, and did homework at the friend's house most school afternoons. The friend's mother was respected at church, but at home she just shouted at everyone all the time. Kagiso didn't think Tshidi would be able to ask Fundzo's mother for womanly advice.

He also needed a job. His friend Jabu owned a small PC shop and internet café, where Kagiso had done most of his on-line courses before he got his internship. Jabu said he couldn't pay a regular salary, but could manage a share of profit, although Kagiso was overqualified to be a technician-salesperson. With two of them to do the repairs and upgrades (and formatting, when the anti-malware scanning was too late) they would be able to catch up the backlog. Jabu had proven himself to his customers, and was getting good business, but richer customers preferred to go to the mall in town for quicker turnaround time. Most of his customers came in over weekends, so Jabu seldom had a day off.

Kagiso's friend had been honest about the sales and the costs, and how much he himself was able to earn. He had spoken wistfully of the merchandise he would buy if he had a little extra money – RAM, components for a full system or two. A few screens. A few keyboards and mice. Commonly used cables and SD cards. Customers often urgently wanted small, profitable items that he couldn't currently keep in stock.

A ghost of a plan was forming. Tshidi would be turning sixteen in two months, and be eligible for the Dividend. With his own Dividend this month, Kagiso could just barely manage to work at Jabu's store for a few weeks instead of fixing appliances and, occasionally, mowing lawns.

If Jabu also got his Dividend, they could concentrate on delivering services better and faster. If the business grew just a little, it could support them both comfortably.

Shall I go see Jabu with my idea? Kagiso thought, lying in bed propped up against his two pillows, in the ox-blood red linen Mama had bought for him when he aced his matric.

Isn't it better than looking for a radio to fix or a toilet to unblock? Isn't it better than sitting here smoking weed until it's time for Tshidi to come home?

Kagiso got up, washed up in the waskom, and brushed his teeth.

He picked out his favourite golf shirt, ironed it, and put it on.

Then he locked the house and started walking.

* * *

"Not a chance, Kate. Until we start getting numbers for the new taxes there's just too many other commitments. And next month we don't get PAYE any more. I've been heaving a sigh of relief about the change I'm getting from the Dividend. I'm paying bills. You remember how many of those we inherited, don't you?"

Ofentse was glaring at Kate. The minister of finance was being precisely the sort of bull-headed, if strategic, bean-counter she had chosen him to be. Siza, however, was staring at the carpet in a corner thoughtfully. As minister of Social Welfare, a combination of a number of former ministries, she had taken to her new role with hard work, a sly sense of humour, and a keen understanding of people and their nuances.

"I think I agree with the president", said Siza. Kate was surprised. Siza's department was the one most likely to take the brunt of any budget shortages caused by the Dividend.

"Moving SASSA functionalities and employees to the Postbank cut my department's payroll by two thirds. PostBank's got the Dividend interest to more than cover that." She looked to Dr Nthabiseng for confirmation, and got an affirmative nod.

"Also, the transfer process revealed hundreds of ghost employees and other frauds," said Nthabi. "And since PAYE drops away, the wage bill will shrink, but, of course, it'll shrink Ofentse's incoming money by the same amount."

"I was never getting it, anyway," grumbled Ofentse. "It was always just a set-off on both sides of the books."

"We're struggling to recruit the new social workers, though," continued Siza. "We may have to offer bursaries for next year. I can comfortably handle a ten billion cut, but I'll want it back for social workers, or when we start building the Care Centres."

Jaqueline knocked discreetly, twice, and then opened the office door.

Kamo stomped in and sank into one of the more comfortable chairs. "Hi," he nodded.

"Traffic?" Kate asked, sweetly. Blue light brigades had been banned. Politicians could use the newly implemented carpool lanes, but not bully everyone else off the road at high speed.

Kamo scowled back at Kate. "What have I missed?"

The Ministry of Special Interests was originally conceived as a bit of a joke, especially for Kamo. Anywhere a bunch of people were yelling at each other, or about something, or about someone, Kamo was in charge of resolving differences and creating win-win solutions. He had Fees Must Fall, the LGBT community, Orania, labour unions, religious groups, heritage groups, and the SPCA, to deal with.

Kamo was sharp, and abrasive, and saw the world through a completely different lens, but he was also helping Kate understand the needs and dreams of the millions of citizens with whom she hadn't previously been able to identify. He had even won over Afriforum. He was a valued member of Kate's team, much more so than she had dared to hope. It had obviously been interpreted by the media as a thank you for giving her the presidency, until she'd started making the other cabinet appointments.

Kate had wanted a truly inclusive and co-operative cabinet. She had wanted each of the parties to have a respected and qualified representative, and had consulted with them to select their best and brightest in context of the makeup of needed skills.

"Ofentse won't let me tell people we'll issue another Dividend next week if they spark to get their accounts. I was about to remind him that the perks moratorium has already saved us five percent of the interest payment budget, but it seems he somehow spent our remaining twenty billion for this month's Dividend while I was sleeping."

"Don't put words in my mouth. We have to watch every penny. They've known we were going to start the Dividend for months. They should have acted," grumbled the Finance Minister.

"They've been lied to so many times before, I don't blame them if they doubted," said Kamo, to Kate's surprise. "I'm with her on this one."

"Just this month, please, everyone," Kate pleaded. "We'll have the inflation and production numbers soon enough, and the economy is going to start revving into high gear this week. The VAT numbers are going to convince you at last, Ofentse, I'm sure they will."

She thought she could physically feel his scepticism.