The Opportunity Society: My response

From pages 10 to 17 of the DA manifesto:

Image notes: Page 12, yet more photographic proof that the DA has supporters of colour.

SCHOOLS

School education lies at the heart of the open, opportunity society … and
set clear performance targets.

Agreeably radical subsidiarity will resolve most of the issues originating from differential contexts, however, institutional autonomy is oft used as a smokescreen to hide inefficiencies. This is nonetheless a responsible position. (Plus 10 points)

Categories of schooling … more remedial classes within schools.

“Step-up schools” would enable private entrepreneurs to derive revenue from the private use of public capital and assets. Let these people start and run private schools (using their own capital) or privatise dysfunctional schools at market-related replacement costs. All ECD centres must be part of a formal Grade 1 upwards school or be a bone fide feeder ECD centre to one or more formal schools. By doing this it will be easier to deliver state subsidies rather than to encourage the proliferation of itinerant ECD centres in backyards and other residential settings. (Minus 5 points)

Funding school education … to receive a better school
education.

This is unclear in its meaning. Schools that perform well will benefit from greater subsidies and all state schools will have a quota for fee remissions, and there will be a bursary voucher programme. So why don’t you just implement the bursary system and the minimum quota at all schools — the other bit is superfluous. This also doesn’t account for functional schools which underperform and serve disadvantaged communities. (Minus 2 points)

School teachers … promotions dependent on the results.

Surely the ETDP Seta / FET college / Unisa / higher ed footprint makes teacher training available everywhere? You’re suggesting bursaries for teachers going into rural areas — will this be tied to performance as well? How will you judge teacher performance? In terms of the learner’s performances? You’re suggesting that the BEd degree may not actually qualify teachers to teach, why aren’t you simply demanding that all teachers complete the BEd or PGDE? (Minus 5 points)

Curriculum, learning and evaluation… extend the FET system to cover grades
8 and 9 as well.

Finally some common sense (Plus 20 points)

The school environment… remedial schools for disruptive learners.

The kid is acting out at school because his parents are unemployed and they argue all the time. Creating havoc at school is the only outlet for his rage. And you want to help intolerant, underqualified teachers (as per the above) by kicking him out of school. How about better life orientation guidance at school? What about mandatory behavioural therapy for troubled and ADHD kids? What about free adult learning courses in the evenings at the school to assist unemployed parents get back on their feet or find better jobs? This plan to separate disruptive from “normal” kids will in the medium to long run encourage anti-social behaviour among the bad eggs and defiant acts of rebel coolness among the good eggs. This is not to mention that it contradicts the one nation one future spiel. (Minus 10 points)

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

When innovation, renewal and the pursuit of excellence … flourishing centre
of innovative development on the African continent.

And for his next trick … Hoover will put a chicken in every pot … (Minus 2 points)

An innovative environment … across the SADC region together.

No, no, no. By taking higher ed and adding (arts and culture and) science and tech; given that general education is managed by provinces, there will be little or no purpose in a national education ministry, other than to fund SAQA, Umalusi and the Council of Educators etc. Politicians have no control over the statutory councils. Telkom, MTN, VodaCom, Cell C, NeoTel … how many more telecoms do you want? At some point the cost of setting up new networks leads to a Virgin piggyback situation, which does nothing to improve traffic flows or reduce costs. Agreeably we need more competition between the networks, but for as long as Telkom remains a behemoth, this will not happen effectively. Do you intend to unbundle Telkom’s licences? The only way to bring the SADC together (in any respect) is a robust and expansive SAFTA. (Minus 5 points)

Innovative education … both domestically and internationally.

Okay, that’s more like it … (Plus 5 points)

We will also ensure internet access … to help with training teachers.

How will this differ from the work of the universal services agency? Whereas the plan to set up PC assembly co-ops with unemployed parents, to supply low cost PCs into communities. Where’s the plan for free broadband internet? (Minus 2 points)

To build a stronger tertiary education sector … through subsidy allocations.

In the last 5 days I have ranted and raved about this lunacy — and I will say no more. The DA goes to war with academia at its own peril. (Minus 10 points)

Innovative government … can be monitored and investigated centrally.

Sorry chaps, the Constituency Feedback Systems (TM) machines would outperform on all these issues at a fraction of the cost and with free 24hr access on every street corner. (Minus 5 points)

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

An opportunity society … take charge of their own lives.

Brilliant :-) (Plus 10 points)

Unleashing potential … economic empowerment and develop skills.

Brilliant :-) (Plus 10 points)

Increasing savings … with a sound, stable fiscal and monetary system.

Brilliant :-) There are a few other things — but this will do for now. (Plus 10 points)

Acquiring skills … for all work visa applicants with scarce
skills.

Scrap the Seta’s — yes definitely, but please pay the SDL to the FET Colleges. Make the FET colleges responsible for delivering all on-the-job training (at no cost to the learner) and remove all benefits to the employer.
(Plus 5 points)

Creating jobs … they can reclaim through the tax system.

Twenty seven percent is still a crime. Make income tax 5%, make provisional tax 10% and corporate tax 15%. Make VAT 5% and remove the VAT threshold. Scrap all other taxes, tariffs, duties and customs. The object is to encourage 25 million taxpayers to file annual tax returns. Scrap all forms of employment, replace it with bilateral service provision contracting. Remove incentives from employers — give new matriculants 100% tax rebates for 3 years, 18 to 21 year olds. EPJZs have not produced the sort of miracles expected in South East Asia and the Middle East. What tends to happen is that businesses are liquidated once the benefits period expires and new business start up to get new benefits for the same entrepreneurs. The public works programme must issue open (legitimate) tenders to private contractors with massive financial penalties for non-compliance. If community co-ops want to go into the construction business, that’s fine, but they must be able to perform so they will need FET College training. (Minus 2 points)

Broad-based black economic empowerment … opportunities to obtain government business.

Scrap BBBEE and AA. Replace it with broad community based socio-economic empowerment with firms that have the most members (shareholders) and the most employees (contractors) getting the highest empowerment rating. Make contractor (employee) and customer ratings count 50% of the final empowerment rating. Ownership is the objective but we don’t want hollow ownership, we are trying to create wealth for the poorest people and this must be ground-up solid foundation. Strategic empowerment partnerships that benefit from the crumbs on “deals” must be scrapped and they do nothing to build self-reliance and instead foster an alienated dependency. (Minus 10 points)

Efficient government … acknowledging
outstanding performance.

How will you prevent the Glasnost-Perestroika billionaire phenomenon?
What about firing the 3 out of 5 superfluous public employees? What about
the basic rights to cheap and efficient water, electricity, refuse removal,
sewerage and sanitation? (Minus 5 points)

Promoting transparency and fighting corruption… clamp down on white collar
criminals and price fixers.

Okay … again with the pies in the sky … (Minus 2 points)

Bolstering regulatory institutions … to investigate complaints proactively.

Inflation targeting is a myth. We need to stimulate the supply side so that instead of 4 retail giants we have 10 retail giants. (Minus 2 points)

A competitive environment… liable for their conduct.

We are a nation of monopolies and cartels — we need more suppliers — the cartels will fall apart on their own. (minus 2 points)

Fighting corruption … provide more protection to whistleblowers.

I reserve comment on this as it fails to address the source of 99% of public corruption. The SAPS-DPCI and the NPA are supposed to be taking on the DSO staff, so why do you need to change anything? surely if SAPS covers up crimes (as you’re suggesting) then you should restructure SAPS? (Minus 5 points)

AGRICULTURE AND LAND REFORM

Agriculture is a core industry in South Africa … all the help they
require to become productive.

How is it that your agro and land plans make sense while all else is half-assed? Attach your experimental farms to universities and use them for research purposes, and you will be onto a winner. We must improve the technology we use in farming to ensure food security. (Plus 10 points)

SPORT

The DA recognises that sport can play … in any particular area.

Actually, we need multi-disciplinary high performance centres of sports excellence attached to every university which has a biokinetics programme. We have 1 in Cape Town for all of the codes for the whole country. Break the monopoly over national teams held by these private bodies like Sarfu etc. The national sports council must register athletes in all sports directly, both amateur and professional. All athletes must be a member of a club or a school/varsity team. The NSC must facilitate the interclub competitions, which will yield NSC teams to represent districts, provinces and the country. Athletes selected for the national Olympic team must come through the same process. (Minus 5 points)

TOURISM

Tourism opens up enormous potential for opportunities and jobs …
and responds accordingly.

Actually what we need are local air carriers that fly via SA to and from everywhere and fancy airports and massive duty-free airport malls. Well it worked for the UAE didn’t it? Create a new visa for people under the age of 35 to visit SA for 3 years — for work, study and community service, give them a full income-tax rebate and create an exchange programme with South African student and youth groups to assist them with accommodation, transport and subsistence. These foreign youth will be the best advert for SA tourism ever. (Minus 2 points)