Tag: Chris Hattingh
South Africa should heed Venezuela’s and Zimbabwe’s abandonment of socialism
The recent press reports of the Venezuelan government relaxing its controls over the economy is heartening. This comes after the government of Zimbabwe also in recent years signalled its intention to open up for business and set right the disaster of Mugabe-era land grabs. South Africa would do well to take heed of this trend away from socialism toward freedom.
Flying the rich at the expense of the poor, sick and...
Government's first duty is to protect the rights of citizens. Instead, ours has prioritised yet another bailout of R10.5 billion for the failed South African Airways (SAA), with a further R6.5 billion in the pipeline. This while citizens die in hospitals lacking basic personal protective equipment, staff and oxygen supplies, and there remains no vaccine on the horizon.
South Africa is undoing 26 years of progress with EWC
South Africa’s flirtation with the idea that government should be allowed to expropriate private property without being legally required to compensate owners for it stands in stark contrast to the constitutional democracy we chose 26 years ago and is already doing great damage to the economy.
Draconian lockdown forces hard choices
The negative effects of South Africa's hard lockdown continue to reverberate through the economy and broader society. The latest flashpoint has been in the taxi industry, specifically in Gauteng, where the South African National Taxi Council (SANTANCO) started the week of 29 June by indicating their taxis will operate at 100% capacity – in open defiance of lockdown regulations.
‘Flattening the curve’ was intended for the virus, not the economy
Business for SA (B4SA) has called for South Africa to proceed quickly to lockdown level 2, lest deeper, and longer-lasting harm be caused to an already crippled economy.
Will the 2020 budget promise SA secure ownership rights and freedom?
Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni will deliver his 2020 budget speech today. South Africa enters a new decade with a growth forecast of only 0.7% (according to ratings agency Moody’s).
NHI will add to SA’s fiscal and healthcare woes
Speaking in KwaZulu-Natal on New Year’s Day, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that the National Health Insurance (NHI) will put private and public hospitals on par with each other. Indeed, rather than improving the quality of care on offer in the public sector, it’s more likely that, by effectively nationalising them, the NHI will reduce the quality of care at private facilities.
Are ACSA Board directors liable under the Companies Act 2011?
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) directors should reread the personal liability sections in S45 in the Companies Act 2008 (the Act) before extending any further largesse to SA Express Airways (SAX).
Moody’s axe will fall – unless we change course now
The probability of a credit rating downgrade from Moody’s does not necessarily equal ‘good’ news for SA’s economic prospects. It is merely the calm before the storm. It would be good news if SA had embarked on one or two of the required reforms – however, this has yet to happen. This temporary reprieve from Moody’s gives SA time to implement some of the changes required to right a seriously listing ship.
Mboweni sends the right signal?
Finance minister Tito Mboweni’s new economic strategy paper is a refreshing, much needed breath of fresh air for an economy struggling for oxygen. The paper is replete with common sense proposals all aimed at achieving the economic growth South Africa desperately needs. We have been stumbling along a low-growth path of high taxes, kilometres of red-tape, wealth redistribution, and anti-individualism for far too long. If Mboweni’s paper can be taken as a true step in a new direction, a direction of more individual freedom, South Africa will see green shoots of recovery almost immediately.
