Trevor Manuel is spot on about government policies

Trevor Manuel was not lying when he said two weeks ago that the government lacks a coherent long-term plan which has weakened the government’s ability to provide clear and consistent policies. No less true were his words directly following: ”In addition, weaknesses in coordination of government have led to policy inconsistencies and, in several cases, poor service delivery outcomes.”

The abovementioned shortcomings can be better explained by noting that poor economic logic will give birth to poor policies. You cannot implement consistent and clear policies if you don’t understand the economy and social relations clearly and consistently. For instance, how can you claim South Africa is an “unfettered free-market” (ANC statement 8 Jan 2010), when government spending as a share of annual GDP runs at about 30%, we spend 36% of our working year to pay taxes, or when the currency is monopolised and controlled by the central bank?
(As a side note, why is the Competition Commission fine with the Reserve Bank’s modus operandi? There’s only one Reserve Bank controlling interest rates and money supply but there are half a dozen airlines soon going under investigation for price collusion. Go figure.)

So we’re told that government control of money supply + labour laws + judicial system + forced taxation + policing + national borders + educational system = unfettered free market? This is clearly inconsistent.

Combating corruption is one of the ANC’s five priorities for building the developmental state (excerpted from that same ANC statement of 8 Jan 2010 quoted above). The ANC’s intentions are clear: intervene to combat corruption.

Combating corruption in the public and private sectors. Corruption poses a serious threat to our struggle to build a caring society and it erodes the moral fabric of our society. It is a threat that must be fought both inside and outside the state. The ANC will never tolerate corruption. Resolutely punishing and effectively preventing corruption is therefore a major political task the ANC must attend to at all times. All ANC members should be aware that combating corruption is a battle that can be won. We will see to it that all cases involving violation of discipline are thoroughly investigated and dealt with and that all involved in corruption, regardless of their position or status in the organisation and society, are severely dealt with in accordance with the laws of our land. We applaud the establishment of a Ministerial Task Team which is seized with the task of developing measures to root out corruption at all levels of the state. We will ensure that there are consequences for incompetence, corruption and lack of accountability.

Which brings us to our element of consistency: government interference’s inevitable bungle. From Fin24:

“Complicated labour laws are a key reason why government fails to discipline corrupt officials who are caught out, the special investigating unit (SIU) told parliament’s public accounts committee (Scopa) on Thursday.

SIU head Willie Hofmeyr said some departments were better than others at implementing disciplinary action, but in various areas of the state discipline was “non-existent”.

For example, when government stepped in to investigate cases of corruption in the Eastern Cape in 2007, the SIU found over 5 000 pending disciplinary cases were gathering dust.”

That’s an example of crystal clear and consistent policies for you, alright. It is clear that government legislated the labour laws – now one of the main reasons it can’t ‘combat’ corruption, and this is consistent with government interference in the unfettered free market. Corruption is not the fault of the free market. Blame these idiotic government policies and interventions that worsen and perpetuate all our economic and social problems.