For those who do not read Finweek, the following letter sums up events in SA rather nicely:
“Sizwekzi Jekwa, in her Black and White column (12 June), ponders the lack of entrepreneurship in South Africa. Imagine a satirical cartoon: A bull - reflecting growth, industry, jobs and economic well being - lies dead with a thousand spears in it. Imagine the blood leaking out of it inscribed with the words “Capital, skills and enterprise”. Imagine labels on the spears reading every conceivable tax, labour law, black empowerment, “equity” this and that, mining laws, compliances and regulations, local government taxes, Excon, etc, etc. Imagine three mighty warriors called African nationalism, the SA Communist Party and Labour throwing spears at the dead bull. The spears in their hands are labelled land expropriation, competition law and “healthcare”.
The underlying caption of the cartoon could read: “Legislative overkill….” That’s how investment and enterprise see it.
How do emerging countries manage without all that legislation - and achieve higher growth rates to boot? If business (big, medium and small) is overburdened and under-investing what chance do the indigenous people have to grow organically? Do aliens worry about registering for tax?
SA is too complex for its own good and legislation is more often than not ill considered and counter-productive. Pulling out one or two spears won’t save the bull. Government regulates every aspect of life in SA yet is completely useless in itself, unable to deliver much to anybody. It talks, takes, looks after itself and consumes its inheritance.
SA is de-industrialising and losing its capacity to produce under the sheer weight of Government and the hurdle it presents. Where would SA be today were it not for the huge price increases of minerals? As the world locomotive slows, SA will have plenty of time to ponder why its system and politics are failing. Like all socialist regimes the environment breeds - as you say - lazy, uninventive South Africans. Soon we’ll become victims justifying the system.”
Mike Sampson
Econresearch
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