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Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
South Africa must revive its industrial ambitions
Neglecting existing infrastructure generates higher long-term costs. South Africa's industrial decline is accelerating. State-owned enterprises that once drove economic transformation now epitomise institutional failure. Eskom's power cuts cripple manufacturing. Transnet's rail network deteriorates while ports struggle with backlogs. The Industrial Development Corporation, established to finance industrialisation, limps along with a compromised balance sheet. This infrastructure was built on the vision of Jan Smuts, prime minister from 1919 to 1924 and 1939 to 1948. While his commitment to racial segregation was morally reprehensible, his approach to economic development offers lessons for today's policymakers grappling with sluggish growth and persistent inequality. Smuts understood that South Africa needed to transcend its role as a commodity supplier to Britain's industrial economy. His developmental state model, combining strategic state investment, international partnerships and technocratic competence, transformed the country from a mining enclave into Africa's most sophisticated industrial economy. The foundations he laid endured for decades. The Electricity Supply Commission (later Eskom) provided cheap power that enabled large-scale manufacturing. The Iron and Steel Corporation (Iscor) supplied essential inputs for further industrialisation. His successors built on these foundations, establishing Sasol for synthetic fuels and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Today, these institutions are shadows of their former selves. More troubling, the country appears to have lost the capacity for the long-term thinking that created them. South Africa's economic performance tells a sobering story. Growth has averaged just 0.8% annually over the past five years, well below the rate needed to reduce unemployment or meaningfully tackle poverty. The Gini coefficient, measuring income The benefits of black economic empowerment (BEE) policies have accrued primarily to political and economic elites, while the rest remain excluded from meaningful economic participation. The debate over the benefits of BEE has resurfaced, particularly concerning its mechanisms for wealth distribution. This has been highlighted by the recent scepticism surrounding the potential introduction of Starlink to South Africa, with concerns about exceptions to BEE compliance. Nonetheless, it is undisputed that, as a result of transformative Moreover, the state capture scandal, where politically connected individuals systematically looted public resources, represents the nadir of this failure, which has been accounted for by the collapse of Transnet and Eskom, the consequences of which are signified by inefficiencies thereafter. Despite the Zondo state capture commission spending more than R1 billion investigating the theft, many implicated figures retain positions of influence. Why do voters continue to elect leaders who have demonstrably failed them? The answer lies in how persistent unemployment, poverty and inequality make populations vulnerable to manipulation by the very politicians who created these conditions. The contrast with Smuts's approach is stark. He prioritised competence over patronage, choosing Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl, a German-educated engineer with US business experience to integrate the country's fragmented electricity supply. Van der Bijl's technical expertise, combined with political backing, enabled the creation of a power system that underpinned decades of industrial growth. Today's leaders talk about infrastructure development but have forgotten a crucial lesson: maintenance matters more than new construction. Neglecting existing infrastructure generates higher long-term costs than building new capacity. Johannesburg's collapsing central business district exemplifies this short-sightedness. Years of deferred maintenance have created a crisis that will cost far more to resolve than it would have cost to prevent. The rot runs deeper than poor maintenance. It reflects a broader failure of vision and leadership. Where Smuts aligned South Africa with international partners to attract investment and expertise, contemporary leaders often prioritise political survival over economic transformation. South Africa does not need to resurrect Smuts's racial ideology; his vision of white supremacy was both morally bankrupt and economically counterproductive. But it needs his approach to state-led development, clear vision, international partnerships, infrastructure investment and, above all, competence in execution. The formation of a government of national unity after the 2024 elections suggests political leaders recognise the scale of the crisis. The question is whether they possess the vision and competence to address it. As Smuts understood, South Africa's prosperity depends on reliable electricity, efficient transport and industrial capacity. These foundations are crumbling. Without urgent action to rebuild them, the country risks becoming a case study in how great institutions can be destroyed by poor leadership. The blueprint for revival exists in South Africa's own history. The question is whether anyone has the courage to follow it. Ashley Nyiko Mabasa holds master's in economic and labour sociology focused on energy policies and master's in public policy and governance focused on data governance, and is co-chairperson of the Brics Youth Council.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Pro-trans demonstrations will spread across the country after Supreme Court ruling - with rallies expected in towns and cities including Liverpool, York and Coventry
Pro-trans demonstrators are planning to take part in a series of protests across the country this weekend against the Supreme Court 's ruling on the definition of a woman. On Saturday, thousands descended in front of Parliament in central London in a hastily arranged demo following last week's judgement, and seven statues, including one of women's votes campaigner Dame Millicent Fawcett, were vandalised. A statue of former South African prime minister Jan Smuts was also graffitied with the words 'trans rights are human rights', prompting home secretary Yvette Cooper to brand the behaviour 'disgraceful'. Metropolitan Police officers are now looking for those who allegedly defaced the statues. But at least 15 further protests are now being organised by pro-trans groups for this Saturday and Sunday in towns and cities from Darlington to Southampton. In York, calling for people to gather at St Helen's Square, the city's ' LGBT forum' said it was 'deeply disappointed' with the decision made by the UK's highest court, which they said 'risks further marginalising trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people.' Last week, judges unanimously ruled that the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex' rather than 'certificated sex'. This means that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces 'if it is proportionate to do so.' The decision was welcomed by many campaigners as a 'victory for common sense' but also prompted a backlash from pro-trans lobby groups. It is believed the Metropolitan Police was under-prepared for the scale of Saturday's central London demonstration and was expecting just a few hundred protesters. However, thousands took to the streets. Statues had not been boarded up and roads had not been blocked off. This weekend, pro-trans groups are organising demonstrations in towns and cities including Coventry; Portsmouth; Liverpool; Leicester; Oxford; Birmingham; Cheltenham; Cambridge; Derby; Bristol; Newcastle and Aberystwyth. In Coventry, the group 'Coventry Trans Pride' has called an 'emergency protest for trans rights', meeting at the city's statue of Lady Godiva on Saturday afternoon. They call on people to 'come together to show that we won't take these attacks on our rights sitting down… we will not disappear and we will not be silenced.' In Darlington, a protest in the town's market square was called after the Supreme Court's decision was described as 'more than a simple clarification on wording, it's an attempt to push trans people out of public life completely. In his first comments since the Supreme Court's judgement, Sir Keir Starmer yesterday said he believed 'a woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear.' He added: 'I actually welcome the judgment because I think it gives real clarity. It allows those that have got to draw up guidance to be really clear about what that guidance should say.'
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Westminster statues vandalised at trans protest
Several statues in Parliament Square, including one of women's votes campaigner Dame Millicent Fawcett, were vandalised during a protest on Saturday. Transgender campaigners gathered in front of Parliament to protest against the ruling by the Supreme Court on Wednesday that biological sex defines a woman for the purposes of the Equality Act. The Metropolitan Police said seven statues were damaged and they are investigating the incidents as criminal damage. No arrests have been made. A statue of World War One South African leader Jan Smuts was graffitied with the words "trans rights are human rights". The Supreme Court ruled that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if "proportionate". The judges unanimously ruled that the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex" rather than "certificated sex". Protests against the ruling also took place on Saturday in Reading, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Met said its officers were in the area policing Parliament Square "but did not witness the criminal damage take place as the area was densely populated with thousands of protestors and it was not reported at the time". It confirmed it is investigating the graffiti as criminal damage and no arrests have been made so far. Ch Supt Stuart Bell, who was leading the policing operation for the protest, said: "It is very disappointing to see damage to seven statues and property in the vicinity of the protest today. "We support the public's right to protest but criminality like this is completely unacceptable." The statue of Dame Millicent Fawcett by artist Gillian Wearing is the only statue of a woman in Parliament Square, where others honoured include international statesmen like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, and former prime ministers Sir Winston Churchill and David Lloyd-George. Unveiled in 2018, it is also the only statue by a female artist in the square, and was erected following a campaign and petition by the feminist activist Caroline Criado Perez. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Fawcett statue unveiled at Westminster Supreme Court backs 'biological' definition of woman Protest rally over Supreme Court gender ruling Metropolitan Police
BBC News
20-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Westminster statues graffitied at London trans protest
Several statues in Parliament Square, including one of women's votes campaigner Dame Millicent Fawcett, were vandalised during a protest on campaigners gathered in front of Parliament to protest against the ruling by the Supreme Court on Wednesday that biological sex defines a woman for the purposes of the Equality Metropolitan Police said seven statues were damaged and they are investigating the incidents as criminal damage. No arrests have been made.A statue of World War One South African leader Jan Smuts was graffitied with the words "trans rights are human rights". The Supreme Court ruled that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if "proportionate".The judges unanimously ruled that the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex" rather than "certificated sex".Protests against the ruling also took place on Saturday in Reading, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Met said its officers were in the area policing Parliament Square "but did not witness the criminal damage take place as the area was densely populated with thousands of protestors and it was not reported at the time".It confirmed it is investigating the graffiti as criminal damage and no arrests have been made so far. Ch Supt Stuart Bell, who was leading the policing operation for the protest, said: "It is very disappointing to see damage to seven statues and property in the vicinity of the protest today."We support the public's right to protest but criminality like this is completely unacceptable."The statue of Dame Millicent Fawcett by artist Gillian Wearing is the only statue of a woman in Parliament Square, where others honoured include international statesmen like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, and former prime ministers Sir Winston Churchill and David in 2018, it is also the only statue by a female artist in the square, and was erected following a campaign and petition by the feminist activist Caroline Criado Perez.
