Tag: South Africa

Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala recently suggested that Eskom should consider hiring an international candidate to succeed its outgoing CEO, André de Ruyter. Although Mr. Tshabalala is trying to be helpful, his suggestion misses the mark. A foreign appointee – no matter how capable or qualified – will not be able to fix the mess at Eskom. Another South African in the post won’t succeed either.

There are many problems with South Africa, but Eskom and its continuing descent into darkness and chaos seems to be a symbol for all of it. Corruption, mismanagement, theft, incompetence, ideological stupidity, and now, attempted murder.

The agricultural sector is vital for the growth of our nation. Despite South Africa’s massive agricultural potential, we do not have enough local production to meet local demand, relying on importers to fill this gap.

“While spending on government consumption has been held down over the last ten years, demand for public services has increased substantially. Meanwhile, as public employment in health, education and criminal justice has stagnated, employment by private companies providing the same services has surged.

Eskom, as a state-owned monopoly, with centrally controlled oversight and direction, is not the best structure for the supply of electricity in South Africa, a critical energy source without which no nation can grow and prosper. Better structures are those that have evolved under competitive circumstances in the European Union, United States, and small, forward-looking countries such as New Zealand.

Since 1994, South Africa has had five presidents who have varied greatly in style and character, despite all belonging to the same political party. How do they compare? How did they handle the crises they faced? What impact did they have on the country?

Education has been repeatedly identified as one of the most important ingredients to ending the majority of South Africans’ cycles of poverty. Yet it is the government’s stranglehold over education – which it maintains precisely in the name of “social justice” – that ensures general education retains a poor quality and only contributes to the cycle. South Africa should be a world leader in the liberalisation of education.

While health laws and regulations are always made with the best of intentions, the costs that they represent to the economy – particularly in trying times like today – are unacceptably high. This is especially true for small businesses that must comply with a host of First World standards. It is time to reassess.

South Africa’s labour-law regime is difficult, if not impossible, for small businesses to comply with. It imposes a relatively higher cost on them than on large firms. This leads to fewer people employed in small businesses, and often leads to small businesses not being formalised and therefore certainly not complying with the law.

The 2022 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) was tabled to Parliament on 26 October 2022 by South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.