Think tank Free Market Foundation (FMF) CEO David Ansara has blamed South Africa's consistent decline in economic freedom on government's "unabated, stifling desire" for economic control.

The 2023 Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) report reveals that South Africa has dropped to 94 in economic freedom rankings, down one place from its ranking of 93 last year.

South Africa remains in the third out of four quartiles of economic freedom.

The report is published by the Fraser Institute - partner in South Africa of the FMF - in Canada each year. One-hundred and sixty-five countries were analysed. This year's report utilises data from 2021, as there is a two-year lag in the available data.

FMF senior consultant and Cumberland University Professor of Finance and Economics Richard Grant said South Africans had, once again, lost economic freedom not only in absolute terms but relative to most other countries.

The report revealed that this is a significant drop from South Africa's highest ranking on the index, which was attained in 2000, when it placed forty-seventh, amidst the largely business- and growth-friendly reforms of the Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki administrations.

"Since then, the country has consistently declined in the rankings as government has introduced more and more misguided policies. These policies invariably seek to regiment economic activity in line with government's ideological ambitions, rather than with the economic needs and demands of society as manifested in the market," the FMF highlighted.

The foundation said that there was a clear causal link between human progress and prosperity and economic freedom.

It highlighted that the EFW showed that the poorest 10% of the population in countries that rank in the first quartile earn about US$14 204 yearly.

"In the fourth quartile (the least economically free states, where government interferes in economic matters as a matter of course), the poorest 10% earn a paltry US$1 736. The third quartile, which South Africa ranks in, is not much better, with the average income earned by the poorest 10% of these states being US$2 641," the report revealed.

Ansara said that in countries that have adopted free market economies, the income earned by the poorest portion of the population is 8.18 times greater than the incomes of the poorest in countries that have opted for State-regimentation of the economy.

Countries that have benefited from following this roadmap include Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand, and the US, which constitute the top-5 jurisdictions in this year's index.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the Department of Home Affairs needs a staff contingency of 60% to operate optimally - but, currently, it falls short of this target, despite pleas to the National Treasury.

Motsoaledi appeared before Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday, during which his department gave an update of backlogs with regard to visas and permits.

MPs pressed the minister on these backlogs, and, in response, he said the department needed more money and staff.

He said the department had previously operated at 39% of staff. After a business case was made to the National Treasury, 700 staff members increased the percentage to 42%.

The minister said he pleaded with President Cyril Ramaphosa to add more funds and staff to improve the department's operations.

"We are running a department with a staff complement of 39% only - and, after reporting the business case, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana moved us from 39% to at least 42%. We have made a presentation and a plea to the president that we will be very happy if the staffing at the Department of Home Affairs can be 60%. We won't reach where we have to, but it will get us somewhere," said Motsoaledi.

The minister said most of the department's budget included the issuing of identity documents, birth certificates and passports for South Africans.

He said because the finances of the department focused on serving internal matters, issues like migration suffered.

"We have no other way of solving the migration issue unless we get more money. As we deal with backlogs and issues, we need to look at the global picture," he said.

Motsoaledi said another issue that added to the burden of visa backlogs was "forum shopping" by applicants.

South Africa, unlike other countries, offers about 17 different types of visa applications, including relative and spousal visas.

Motsoaledi said his department often had to deal with the same individuals who applied for different visas to gain entrance or to stay in the country.

"When you ask us why we have so many backlogs, you have to consider the issue of forum shopping. You are dealing with the same person from one country 10 times or more because of forum shopping. They try one type of visa and, if they are unsuccessful, they try another. So, we keep dealing with the same person, and there is no way there will be no build-up of backlogs. We might have to revisit the legislation and why it allows this type of thing," he said.

"We have 17 types of visas, and we are being attacked on serious backlogs on visas, and people say this threatens the economy."

On the issue of visas, the committee was given a breakdown of visa application backlogs, which include various types of categories, and it amounts to 74 000.

The highest backlog in applications - 35 000 - is visas of people who have spouses in South Africa. They want to come and live in the country and seek employment as well.

The minister said the backlog in this section was because the awarding of the visa had to be co-approved by the Department of Employment and Labour. The labour department needs to ensure that no South African is available to do the job, and then approve the application.

Motsoaledi said this process resulted in the procedure being backlogged because general work visas can only be issued once the labour section is approved.

A R107-million refurbishment of the Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme is on the pipeline, with Capetonians hoping it will bring further relief from load shedding.

This week, the City of Cape Town's mayoral committee recommended that the council approve funding for the provision of professional services for the refurbishment project over the next few years.

Mayco Member for Energy Beverley van Reenen said refurbishment fell into the City's plan to "provide load shedding protection of up to four stages where feasible" within the next two years.

"This multi-year contract for the provision of professional services comprises some R107-million to enable the refurbishment of this valuable Cape Town asset that is protecting customers from up to two stages of loadshedding where possible," she said.

"The contract period is 108 months from date of commencement and is programmed to start 15 February 2024 and end 30 June 2032. It will lay the foundation for the refurbishment of the plant."

"All due process will be followed in terms of regulatory and legislative requirements. The budget and execution of the professional services will determine the final budget and delivery programme."

Langa business owner Siseko Mngxali said that while he would want more information on the details of the project, it sounded like a good idea on the surface.

"Any insulation from load shedding helps businesses tremendously. Small businesses are having to absorb more costs, such as using gas for cooking," he said.

Mngxali added that some township areas were serviced by Eskom. Unlike those serviced by the City of Cape Town, they were unlikely to benefit from a project at Steenbras Dam.

The Strandfontein Ratepayers Association has raised concerns about the project, saying they feared it would be a "waste of money", and that the funding could be better spent on supporting community projects.

"The City can't even keep the street lights or robots going. They can't maintain our roads or protect the safety of our learners. Yet they want to spend billions as a political ploy to entice our people to vote for them," it said.

The Camps Bay and Clifton Ratepayers Association's Chris Willemse said if the upgrade would protect the city from another stage of loadshedding, it would be money well spent. He said that while the amount might sound like a steep investment, it was not very much in the context of the City's budget.

Willemse added that while many residents had invested in alternative loadshedding solutions such as inverters, they still needed to be protected against high levels of load shedding.

"Inverters still need to be charged. If there are long periods of power outage, the ability of inverters to recharge is seriously compromised. Every stage makes a difference," he said.

'People's lives have been completely altered'

Milnerton Ratepayers Association chairperson Bouwe van der Eems said that residents often benefitted from lower loadshedding schedules in the afternoons and evenings, while businesses felt the brunt of the higher stages during the day.

He said the City's plan to protect residents and businesses from loadshedding would become increasingly important if the problems plaguing Eskom worsened.

"If we get to Stage 8 of loadshedding, we're talking about serious business. That's going to affect telecoms and banking services," he added.

If Cape Town could remain on a lower stage, it would go a long way to protecting the local economy, Van der Eems believes.

Gugulethu Business Forum chairperson Mlungisi Mazana said loadshedding was at the stage where "we don't care where the electricity comes from".

"Looking at what the economy is losing, any innovation to prevent loadshedding is welcome. People's lives have been completely altered. Crime is increasing, and people are losing their livelihoods," he said.

Mazana said he hopes that small businesses will be able to benefit from the construction project, especially seen as they are among the worst affected by...

South Africa has released a draft law that will facilitate the creation of a holding company to house struggling power utility Eskom, rail and port operator Transnet and other State-owned enterprises.

The National State Enterprises Bill, which will enable the formation of the State Asset Management, was released for comment on Friday by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. The Department of Public Enterprises, which currently oversees the State companies and answers to Gordhan, will be phased out as the holding company is brought into effect.

The reform will consolidate the State's shareholdings within a single entity and define the holding company's powers, the draft legislation reads.

The move follows years of mismanagement and corruption at State companies that cost South African taxpayers billions of rand. Eskom's failure to meet electricity demand is has resulted in years of blackouts that have constrained output, while Transnet's inability to run rail operations at capacity impairs mineral exports.

Should the bill pass, the new company will likely be established after the next government takes office after next year's election.

President Cyril Ramaphosa noted on Monday that with so many countries and societies beset by conflict, South Africa is fortunate that the project of national reconciliation is ongoing and has not been abandoned.

Ramaphosa pointed out in his weekly letter to the nation that artists and cultural workers are able to exercise their right to freedom of expression in how they chronicle the past and the present, and do so without fear of censure, banning or imprisonment.

He explained that these are the fruits of freedom, but also the fruits of peace.

Ramaphosa called on the country's creative practitioners to play a more prominent role in nation-building through work that highlights the uplifting, inspiring and enduring aspects of the society and its history.

He explained that contributing to maintaining peace and to advancing reconciliation is the country's collective responsibility. "It is the greatest gift we can bestow on the generations to come," he said.

He said one of the most remarkable aspects of South African society today is its common commitment to maintain peace and prevent tribalism and ethnic chauvinism from sowing discord between citizens.

Ramaphosa added that even when acts of racism occur, these provocations are rejected by South Africans.

Later this week, South Africa will celebrate Heritage Day, which aims to showcase the great diversity of culture, language and history in the country.

"This eternal vigilance is born of bitter experience that has its roots in the political violence of the 1980s and early-1990s, and how South Africans worked together to overcome differences, pull our country back from the brink and achieve peace," he said.

He added that as citizens celebrate their roots with art, dance, cuisine and music, they must remember that the struggle for peace and reconciliation is a vital part of South African heritage.

"We remember that the children born into democracy are able to take pride in their heritage today because of the peaceful democratic transition, which produced a Constitution that guarantees rights and freedoms for all, including the right to express one's language and culture," he explained.

STATE BROADCASTING

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said that South Africa has come a long way from the State broadcasting of the apartheid era, when the rich cultural heritage of South Africa and lived realities of the South African people were marginalised.

He highlighted that today, storytellers, artists, filmmakers and other creative professionals are telling the stories of the South African people.

"These stories are cultural endowments for the benefit of future generations, and are integral to the ongoing task of forging national unity, inculcating national pride and promoting respect for diversity. The success of Shaka iLembe and many other local productions should encourage creative professionals to apply their talents to the production of more such work. There are so many stories to be told, both of the past and the present," he said.

Ramaphosa noted that Shaka iLembe forms part of a growing movement within the local creative industries to craft stories and histories about South Africa's people from their perspective and through their eyes.

South Africans will be able to access national parks for free for a week, starting on Saturday.

SA National Parks Week runs from 16 to 24 September, and aims to encourage citizens to enjoy their natural heritage - especially communities bordering the protected areas, as they might not ordinarily be able to afford the general entry fees, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment said.

"National Parks Week is an ideal opportunity for us to introduce the majesty and beauty of the country's national parks to the people, especially to communities who seldom get to experience and enjoy these areas of conservation, cultural heritage and biological diversity, right on their doorstep," Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy said at the launch on Friday.

The initiative was launched in 2006, allowing more than 619 292 South Africans, who otherwise would not have, to visit parks.

To qualify for free entry, South Africans must present their identity documents. Children younger than 16 will not be required to provide identification.

The free access does not include accommodation and commercial activities within parks, such as safaris and guided walks.

The Namaqua National Park in the Northern Cape, the Boulders Penguin Colony and the Cableway in Table Mountain National Park in the Western Cape do not form part of the National Parks Week free access programme.

In her address, Creecy noted the work of the tourism department to support infrastructure projects in national parks, given their importance to the tourism industry. These include the installation of solar PV and inverters to help meet roughly a quarter of the daytime electricity demand for the Skukuza rest camp and administrative operations in the Kruger.

"Since commissioning of the system in May 2018, Skukuza has reduced its electricity bill with an average of R136 000 per month, which translates to a saving of more than R8-million over the past five years," said Creecy.

Creecy said that partnerships like this between government departments and institutions are important to help finance and manage protected areas.

"Such partnerships can and will ensure the future sustainability of nature-based tourism and its longer-term employment potential."

The Kruger National Park is South Africa's first national park and the largest - spanning 19 458 square kilometres. It is the sixth-largest national park in Africa and includes the Big Five - lion, buffalo, elephant, rhino and leopard.

The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the Public Enterprises Minister to remove Transnet's CEO Portia Derby, accusing her of sabotaging businesses through lack of service delivery.

In a letter dated 12 September and signed by Palesa Phili, CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the business community of eThekwini said it had reached a point where it could "no longer tolerate" Derby's behaviour which, it said, is "clearly geared towards sabotaging businesses, through the lack of service delivery with the current port infrastructure".

The chamber said that it believed Derby, as well as the head of Transnet Freight Rail, Sizakele Mzimela, and Transnet National Ports Authority CEO, Pepi Silinga, did not have the best interests of the business community at heart.

Transnet's executive team "have proven time and time again that they are incompetent . Businesses are collapsing and losing revenue daily . we cannot allow this to continue any longer", the letter said.

The chamber's plea comes on top of calls from the Minerals Council South Africa for the removal of Derby and Mzimela in a letter sent to the former Transnet board chairperson in December last year.

Earlier this month, Gordhan tasked the new Transnet board with conducting a sweeping review of the organisation, including a thorough review of the executive management and whether the right people with the right skills are in place. He further asked the board to identify the root causes of the inability of management and staff to meet performance targets.

In its letter to Gordhan, the Durban Chamber said it had written to Derby, firstly to express concern over her statements made at a Bloomberg event in August - where she commented on potential job losses in the trucking sector should Transnet's railing service improve. The chamber said it had further raised other critical issues relating to the ports and to the parastatal's service delivery, and had requested a meeting with Derby.

In the letter to Gordhan, the chamber said it believed there needed to be an in-depth investigation into TPNA's recruitment and procurement processes.

The chamber further lamented the lack of commitment from Transnet to improve rail performance.

"While there are external factors contributing to the rail networking not functioning, we have not seen interventions that identifies and reviews internal efficiencies," the chamber said. "Furthermore, there is a lack of stakeholder engagement by TFR. This is resulting in business uncertainty."

In a written statement issued on Friday, Transnet said it had been made aware of the letter and Derby had met with the mayor of eThekwini, and the CEO of the Durban Chamber on the sidelines of another engagement in Durban that morning.

"The parties have agreed to collaborate on finding solutions to the pressing challenges. A meeting will be held as a matter of urgency to discuss the critical issues which cause frustration to the members of the chamber," Transnet said, adding that a joint statement will be issued by the parties after the meeting to detail the interventions to be implemented by Transnet.

Opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen on Friday reiterated his party's move to have Eskom's decision to increase electricity prices by 31.4% declared invalid as South Africans have been left in the cold by what he calls an "uncaring" government.

In his weekly newsletter Steenhuisen said Eskom's failures are owing to government's failure to take responsibility and defend constitutional rights.

The country is back to stage 6 loadshedding, despite Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's promise that South Africa will not go back to stage 5 and 6.

The DA leader said R233-billion of taxpayer money has been spent on 15 years of construction at the Kusile power station, yet it is not generating a single kilowatt of electricity.

He says the African National Congress' (ANC's) failure to provide energy supply is a violation of most of the provisions in the Bill of Rights.

"The DA, by contrast, cares deeply and is taking every possible action to fight loadshedding and uphold people's rights. In my newsletter last week, I set out how the DA is tackling the root cause of loadshedding: cadre deployment. This week, the DA went to court to fight the Nersa tariff hike, and to have overall control of electricity supply taken out of the ANC's hands and put into the hands of an independent energy expert who will report directly to the Court," said Steenhuisen.

He pointed out that in the DA-governed Cape Town, R1.2-billion is being invested in the maintenance and expansion of the Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme, to protect Cape Town residents from two stages of loadshedding.

Steenhuisen promises South Africans that his party can replace the ANC government next year with a caring, capable government alongside six other parties in the Multi-Party Charter.

"This is the fight of our lives, and we're not pulling any punches," he said.

In the closing remarks of his party's three-day policy conference, ActionSA President Herman Mashaba declared to delegates that the 2024 elections will be a game changer for South Africa.

He said when he launched the party during the height of the Covid-19, many people dismissed him and said that he lacked depth of leadership, but "in 2021 we proved them wrong".

"We emerged as the sixth biggest party and in every municipality we contested we dramatically reduced the support of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). We embraced practical solutions that will help us achieve our South African dream of a more prosperous future," said Mashaba.

He told delegates that the party's focus was not on the problems facing the country, but rather on the opportunities ahead.

Mashaba believes that the South African dream - a vision for a better, more abundant prosperous South Africa - is possible.

He thanked the 614 delegates who attended the policy conference, noting that "not a single chair was thrown" as says has become the norm in other political parties.

"Today, the outcome of this policy conference represents a comprehensive agenda to fix South Africa. These policies will undo the harmful legacy of the ruling party. Our policy conference delegates approved that when ActionSA takes the government in 2024, on day one we will reduce the size of the cabinet to approximately 20 people," he revealed.

Under an ActionSA government, Mashaba promised no space for "freeloaders who enjoy cabinet perks" and said there will be no deputy ministers, the money for whom will instead go towards service delivery.

The businessman-turned-politician promised South Africans that every senior government manager in every level of government will undergo a skills audits to ensure that they are fit for the job.

"Those people in positions to steal from the State will be removed. Senior officer bearers, senior officials and those engaged in the supply chain will face regular

lifestyle audits which will happen soon after we take office - unlike what we have seen with the current administration," he promised.

He said the launch of a massive opportunity fund will fundamentally reduce inequality in South Africa.

His company Black Like Me will help fund tertiary education and ignite massive public construction to improve the lives of the most marginalised.

He stressed that ActionSA will introduce a competitive and decentralised energy market, allowing the private sector to fill the current gap in electricity generation.

"We will eradicate corruption at Eskom, allowing us to bring rolling blackouts in South Africa to an end. When we take government, our policy conference approved that we will restore the rule of law in South Africa so we can grow the economy and create jobs. Life sentence will mean life sentence," he said.

Cabinet has been given the assurance that the current higher stages of loadshedding are temporary.

This is according to Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who said Cabinet had extensive meetings focusing on the country's energy crisis.

On Thursday, she presented the Cabinet's decisions following a meeting held on Wednesday.

"Cabinet is assured that the increases in loadshedding are indeed temporary. There are clear plans for when additional capacity will come through. There is the return to service of Kusile units 1 to 4. There is also additional work being done. But, Cabinet is assured that, in terms of the measures being taken, the increase in loadshedding stages is indeed a temporary measure," she said.

Ntshavheni also said that government was confident in its ability to resolve loadshedding, adding that it remains on top of the matter.

More than 45% of Eskom's power generation capacity is offline, with unplanned breakdowns at power plants alone taking 16 200MW from the grid. At the start of winter, Eskom saw a record outage of more than 50%, which pushed South Africa the closest ever to stage 8 loadshedding.

Last week, the brand-new Medupi Power station was hit by a chain break underneath one of its boilers. The chain forms part of a system called a "submerged scraper conveyor", which removes coal ash from the bottom of the boilers.

Units at the Arnot, Duvha and Grootvlei power stations also broke down, while continued problems at the Kendal, Matla and Matimba stations prevented their out-of-order units from returning.

Regarding the government's cash crunch, Ntshavheni said Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana would issue guidelines on cost containment measures.

"We do not want to create the impression that there is a crisis in South Africa and that the country is going to collapse. South Africa is not going to collapse," she said.

The budget cuts, which affect all government departments, are being led by Godongwana, who is driving efforts to get a grip on runaway spending in a way that sustains the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant beyond 2024.

Furthermore, Ntshavheni said there were no government programmes the Cabinet was looking at cutting.

"We are also clear on that the priorities [which] have been agreed to between the president, deputy president and ministers won't be affected. Individual ministers will engage with both the president and the deputy president as part of the in-year performance review," she said.

Ntshavheni added: "We have acknowledged that there are inefficiencies within the system that, if improved, can - in the short, medium and long term - bring serious improvements to the budget. The current fiscal constraints are not domestic, they are global and therefore we cannot just plan for the short term. We don't have control over the external factors causing the fiscal constraints. This is not unique to South Africa."

She added that Cabinet had resolved that the economic infrastructure and development cluster must come up with a plan on how to mitigate the impact of the high cost of living on poor South Africans.