From start to finish, the government decision to invite Cuban engineers to fix our water problems was a case study in political deception. It made no technical sense since South Africa has some of best trained engineers on the continent. It made little financial sense since the budget for the project involving 24 Cuban engineers was a staggering R64,652,000.  It made no developmental sense in a Covid economy where experts estimate that about 2,000 SA engineers are unemployed. And it made no educational sense since engineers from outside the country need to be registered with the engineering council or be supervised by a registered engineer – the latter requirement defeating the apparent “skills transfer” purpose of the Cuban visitors...