Tag archives for Government
Toward a new electoral system for South Africa
In May 2017 the Rational Standard carried a piece by Nicholas Babaya calling for a number of democratic reforms in South Africa. The first was the introduction of a two-round…
A few democratic reforms South Africa could benefit from
South Africa is a country with a very diverse base of political support. The National Assembly is currently elected by proportional representation and thirteen different political parties have at least…
Budget Speech 2017: key points
Yesterday (22 February 2017), Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivered the budget speech for the 2017/2018 year. In setting the context of the speech, Minister Gordhan focused on increasing global economic…
What is meant by ‘Crony Capitalism’?
The notion that capitalism is the root of evil (and responsible for many of our current problems) seems to be contemporary, politically correct and – unfortunately – widely held. And,…
Separation of Powers – The Ghost in the Machine
In South Africa, we have not questioned the structure of our State since 1994. This is mostly because we were so proud of the fact that the Apartheid state was…
The dying light: freedom of speech is fading fast
In an Oxford Union debate entitled Freedom of Speech and the Right to Offend, Peter Hitchens (brother of the late Christopher Hitchens) had this to say: “…what the offensive person…
Prophets of doom: fear the deflationary spiral!
Let’s get one thing out of the way: as things currently stand, we are very unlikely to see a period of general and sustained price deflation any time soon. Why,…
Now is the time for business to grow a pair – and fast
The worst thing for confidence in an economy, government or system is uncertainty. I have had the opportunity over the past year or so to attend speeches and meet prominent…
Budget 2016: a political compromise
Written by: Christiaan van Huyssteen and Nic Haussamer In what was certainly the most important budget speech in recent history, the Minister of Finance had the tough task of delivering…
True Democracy: The Price of running in elections
The contemporary cultural message of South Africa is that of democracy, diversity and inclusivity. We are a society which claims to be based upon the ideals of equal, free and…