Recently, a new political regime in South Africa has revitalised hopes for Africa’s most developed economy. Despite excellent infrastructure, abundant natural resources, and significant overseas goodwill, South Africa has failed to catapult itself out of obscurity and relatively low income in international terms in the decades since the end of international isolation associated with apartheid government.
Below I detail and make an open proposal for the new political regime to undertake 8 radical projects that I believe would have a material positive impact on the future trajectory of the South African nation. In no particular order, I believe the government of South Africa can and should:
High-speed rail could drastically increase the economic interaction and mobility of citizens in the country’s two largest cities. The distance (1400 km) could be covered by high-speed train in 4 hours. Businesses would take advantage of the service to increase service and employment into both markets. Tourists would marvel at the scenery and natural beauty en route. A premium tourism offering could offer cultural and scenic stops en route, enriching the lives and employment opportunities of small communities that are currently cut-off from major metropolitan areas. Construction and engineering firms would increase employment and the country would re-gain its standing as Africa's best-connected and most modern nation. Following completion, engineering talent and construction capacity could be exported to other African countries seeking to improve their rail infrastructure.
South Africa has a large population of willing youth who need skills in order to succeed in the workplace. However, local employment has stubbornly lagged the growth in labour supply and many potential workers lack practical skills needed in the workplace. Even more fundamentally, many South African youths lack an experiential understanding of the traits and attitudes that engender success in the workplace in the context of a successful economy. Diplomatic missions could secure large-scale fixed-term apprenticeship programs whereby foreign companies would benefit from inexpensive labour and young South Africans would gain exposure to the wider world, other languages, cultures, and gain work skills in the process. Upon their return, these apprentices would be highly coveted employees and would start many businesses of their own, increasing employment at home. The apprentices would gain valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of cultures abroad and repatriate these ideas for the long-term success of the nation.
Apprenticeship quotas would be secured through diplomatic negotiation with foreign governments and employers. These apprenticeships would be mutually beneficial, and participating countries would gain preferential trading relationships with South Africa through their long-term contacts. Overseas apprenticeships would be awarded according to high academic performance and encourage participation and engagement at schools inside South Africa.
There is little empirical doubt that South African labour law protects entrenched employees at the expense of overall employment. Further, the requirement for employers to engage in lengthy and costly beuucratic hoops in order to dismiss employees creates an ineffective work environment. Job security is important, but employers’ incentives under the current system are to employ as few people as possible. By giving employers flexibility and discretion over their own businesses, they will flourish and create more jobs.
National values or characters can be easily lost in the globalised marketplace for ideas, subsumed by multi-national branding and commercial imperatives. If South Africa has little as a cohesive and defining national character given the diverse nature of the country’s component ethnicities and cultures, let the country choose a direction for itself over having commercial values and competing vested interests determine the country’s direction from the outside.
I propose that hospitality should become a point of national focus, national pride, and wide-ranging education. This national character would be the focus of major education campaigns, and focused at all age levels. South African hospitality is warm, gentle, informal, and authentic to local culture. The country can choose an easily recognisable term to define its particular brand of hospitality. Improving the public’s understanding of the value of hospitality will improve the country’s image abroad, increase tourism to destinations currently considered out of mainstream, and improve social cohesion.
Reducing littering, fighting crime, preventing fires, and improving the quality of life of the citizenry should become a major focus of public education and awareness. Too much of the South African political and media landscape is consumed by scandals, disagreements, and arguments. The nation could adopt concrete, achievable goals for the improvement of various quality-of-life metrics, and focusing on a few metrics at a time, make substantial improvements with little expenditure simply by advertising and educating the population. Some early progress has been made on this front to reduce violence against women, and this work should be expanded and opened up so that actors other than the national government also have incentives to share in the creation of a national psyche to improve the quality of life.
Addressing South Africa’s high level of income inequality requires a highly progressive tax system. However, the revenue service should work to substantially increase the number of taxpayers so that all South Africans contribute within their means to the success of the nation. The amount of tax paid by low-income taxpayers is less important than the need for citizens to feel a stake of ownership and responsibility for their nation’s finances. It is generally observed that those who contribute financially to something take better care of it.
South Africa has historically been at the forefront of establishing various human rights including through its progressive and forward-thinking constitution. Many years after the end of apartheid, it is clear that one of the most insidious and difficult-to-eradicate forms of discrimination was the restriction of movement to various areas. Restricting the movement of citizens was at the core of the previous regime's immoral ideology, yet movement in democratic South Africa has not become totally free. Many areas are not adequately served by public transport, and much private transport is usurious and corrupt. Restrictions on movement have lived on into the modern era in various forms, and have hampered growth and employment. Private taxi systems should be regulated with the public good in mind, and substantial public transport works such as the My Citi buses and Gautrain should significantly expanded.
South Africa has numerous soft power strengths. The springboks are known worldwide for their on-field prowess, protea flowers are coveted as exotically beautiful, and people around the world enjoy South African wines and fruits on their dining tables. The country and government should unite behind South Africa's soft power assets, recognize their value to the nation, and support local industries and associations that promote South Africa’s soft power abroad. Using the country’s already-established international strengths to overcome stereotypes of South Africa as disorganised, mis-managed, or unstable could catapult interest in the country to the benefit of all its inhabitants.