September 30, 2011

• Final comments

  Final comments

  #NPC_jam

  The NPC jam will end in 11 hours. I have made 34 entries. Tonight I made a final entry commenting on the vision that was given by the NPC diagnostic overview report.  I am sure if I had more time I could have made a more valued contribution. Not very interesting Xanga material but certainly something I needed to capture as part of my blog. 

  1. A democratic state, rooted in the values of the Constitution.

  South Africa’s constitution has proven to be robust and makes me feel protected to a degree. The basic human rights should be respected and further augmented with a bill of responsibilities. The spirit of the constitution was never to promote race based policies like Affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment…but rather equality among all citizens of the country. My vision for 2030 is that the true spirit of the constitution becomes alive and is not just mere words on paper with exceptions.

  2. Common interest binds us as a nation.

  There can be no common interest as long as divisive race based policies like Affirmative action and Black economic empowerment is promoted. These policies continually force a minority group to be in an inferior position relative to the majority of the country. My vision for 2030 is a country where we can have a common interest in growth, upliftment and creating prosperity for all. My plea is that all the skills of all the people are utilised so that the country as a whole can pursue greater excellence.

  3. Quality education, health care and infrastructure, give impetus to human development.

  Absolutely and what a lovely place to start fostering equality. Abandon super private schools for the rich. Let all children be part of a state school and let the rich invest in the state schools rather than private schools. Then education between rich and poor will be equalised to give everybody fair opportunities. In terms of health care focus on preventing illness rather than being reactive to act only when people are sick.

  4. Comprehensive social security.

  All need to be safe. Neighbourhood watches should be instituted by law. All healthy and able citizens must participate in neighbourhood watch activities. This will put a national emphasis on collaboration and collective contribution to security. 

  5. Natural wealth is harnessed in a way that protects our environment to ensure a growing economy that benefits all.

  Our natural resources are the only sustainable source for growth. We should not seek wealth at the cost of natural resources. A growth economy can only happen if the government helps to target and develop industries that can be globally competitive. Growth can only be optimised if all skills across all racial groups are optimally used. 

  6. People who are able to work have access to jobs, workers’ rights are protected and the workforce is skilled.

  There should be equal access to jobs. Jobs are not created with internal strive between racial groups for a part of the pie. The pie is grown by leveraging all skills and becoming globally competitive. There must be greater flexibility for businesses to upscale and downscale resources as demand and supply changes. Jobs can only be created if new business can flourish. New businesses should not be taxed in the first three years and then taxation must be scaled up. 

  7. Business can invest and profit while promoting the common interests of the nation, including decent work.

  A profit driven society will always lead to a greedy society. Companies should not just be measured in terms of their profit but also in terms of their contribution to the upliftment of the poor. These should be effected through incentives. 

  8. An efficient state protects citizens, provides quality services and infrastructure, and gives leadership to national development.

  Efficiency requires that the state do all those things without wastage of resources and people’s money. When we say protect citizens then it must be all citizens. A state must also be effective…for an effective state does not only provide but it creates opportunities for citizens to empower themselves. Help people to eat healthy. Stimulate new business so that they can create own businesses. Break down divisive race based policies so that all can collaborate and work together. Provide infrastructure that support expansion and economic growth so that it can be funded through growth and not by digging into the pockets of citizens.

  9. Individuals and communities embrace mutual respect and human solidarity.

  This can only be done if race based policies like Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment are dropped, else it will always create a them and us approach and blaming. There are different ways of empowerment. Empower the poor and stimulate collaboration rather than division. Maintain the individual freedom support the development of communities We need to boost art and more specifically erect a statue, building or symbol that will remind this and future generations that we were a group of people that was driven by reconciliation, collaboration and that we took hands to build a future together. 
  If race based policies cannot be abandoned and white’s cannot be given equal opportunities then allow the Afrikaner an independent homeland where they can build something of their own, where they can protect their culture, belief and history. That will remove a portion of whites out of the equation, freeing up jobs for about 50000 blacks. It will foster greater unity between the citizens within the country because those who choose not to go to the independent homeland will not challenge the race based policies or complain about it. 
  The government must decide if whites are part of the future of the country fully or not. 

  10. All work together to build a better Africa and a better world

  We are all connected…if the one suffer all will eventually suffer. Eliminating inequality and addressing the poor will benefit all. South Africa must play a leading role not within itself but should provide resources with all African states and focus on trade, commerce and tourism between states. 

  • 6:23 pm
  • 3 Comments