Before you regulate

[Dave A]

Before you regulate, you need to consider that you are making a stick for your own back. What will your successors do with that stick?

It's been something of a mantra for me over the years as I've worked on regulation issues in the pest management industry, and I've become distinctly aware that the best form of regulation and policing when it comes to business practices is a well-informed free market.

The importance of being well-informed makes the message in this report all the more chilling:

Civil society organisations on Wednesday warned that repressive laws, such as the proposed Protection of Information Bill (POI) would come back to haunt the state further down the line.

"A Bill, once it's passed into law, does not stay in the statute books only for one administration or one term of government. It stays well into the future and history has shown that repressive laws are not usually misused by the administration that passes them but rather by administrations into the future," said Ayesha Kajee, executive director of the Freedom of Expression Institute.

A good example of this is Zimbabwe's Law and Order Maintenance Act which was passed by the Ian Smith regime and greatly misused by the Robert Mugabe regime.

"When our legislature passes a Bill into law, they need to consider that if their worst enemies came into power, how would their worst enemies misuse that [law]?" she said.
full story from M&G here

Well said Ayesha. May the powers that be take heed.

[Butch Hannan]

I really believe that there are so many "cans of worms" that the government is terrified of being opened up that this clouds their judgement as far as future issues are concerned. If only all the issues surrounding the arms deal were brought out into the open and, where necessary, individuals prosecuted for any illegal activities that they may have been involved in. Maybe I should rather talk about a " can of poisonous snakes"