President Ramaphosa speaking at the 5th South African Investment Conference on 13th April 2023 made the following statements; “We are now confronted with the consequences of years of under-investment, mismanagement and corruption in our electricity, rail and logistics sector.” and that, “We are on a long journey to rebuild our country and recover ground we have lost. Our recovery is a mission and will take time to accomplish”. He continued that, “The lack of reliability in electricity supply weakens business and consumer confidence, taints international perceptions about our country and affects investment sentiment and decisions” concluding that, “If the focus of our struggle for liberation to end apartheid and achieve political freedom, the focus of our efforts must be to address inequality…
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Echoes of State Capture and moral decay … a health perspective
Athol Williams’ Deep Collusion was a recent read. The book outlines the role of the international consultancy Bain & Company in the “capture” of state entities such as Telkom and the South African Revenue Services (SARS) during the Zuma presidency years. Of particular interest to me was the author’s conceptualisation of the process of state capture. He compares the differences between corruption and state capture. The different degrees and influence and control (decision making) that “illegitimate and unelected parties” have over the functions of the state determines the differences. In what he categorises as a “just democratic state” there is no influence or control by illegitimate parties over state resources. With…
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The state of South Africa is not good!
As I write this, I am challenged by the state of South Africa today. Echoing the words of an American President, Gerald Ford, addressing the United States Congress in his 1975 State of the Union Address when he memorably told his nation that, “the state of the Union is not good” I would say that “the state of South Africa is not good”. South Africans are challenged daily by failures of service delivery from local, provincial and national government as well as State-owned entities. As a South African health professional I am particularly concerned by the impact of these failures on the public health service that serves the majority in this…