Solutions With David Ansara

The South African business environment is becoming increasingly hostile and uncertain. What can ordinary South Africans do to 'state-proof' their businesses?

In this episode of the 'Solutions With David Ansara' podcast, I speak to Piet le Roux, CEO of business group Sakeliga, about the steps that South African businesspeople can take to protect their organisations from damaging policies.   

Piet and I discuss the importance of diversifying your jurisdictional exposure and income streams, as well as why you shouldn't do business with the government. We also speak about how to build alternative institutions in the absence of a capable state.   

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Sakeliga website: https://sakeliga.co.za/

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Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-pP9ktNwJ5o

Why is free speech an important value in a democratic society and what are the threats facing freedom of expression in South Africa? How do we balance free speech against other constitutional values, such as dignity and equality?  

In this episode of 'Solutions With David Ansara', David speaks to Advocate Mark Oppenheimer about proposed amendments to South Africa's Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA).   

Mark and David highlight various problems with the Amendment Bill, including its proposed redefinition of the terms 'equality' and 'discrimination', as well as its overly-broad conception of liability. They also discuss the importance of tolerance for the free exchange of ideas in society.   

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South Africa's three-tiered system of government makes provision for nine provinces, each with its own legislature and executive. But are the provinces sufficiently empowered and how is the current constitutional structure enabling or constraining provincial administrations? Do they represent the interests of citizens? 

In this episode of the 'Solutions With David Ansara' podcast, David is joined by Richard Wilkinson, an attorney with a special interest in provincial powers in South Africa.   

David and Richard explore the benefits of a federalism, and why devolution of power is more effective than centralisation. They also discuss the significance of a legislative amendment proposed by the Democratic Alliance which would enable Premiers to call a provincial referendum.

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Watch on YouTube.

How can African countries boost economic growth and reduce extreme poverty? One approach is through the expansion of free trade on the continent.  

In this episode of the 'Solutions With David Ansara' podcast, David is joined by Alexander C.R. Hammond, Director of the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity (IATP), a joint project of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom.    

David and Alex discuss the link between free trade and prosperity, the barriers to trade that exist on the continent, and the potential of the newly-created African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to transform the economies of Africa.   

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IATP: https://theiatp.org/about-us/

Private property rights are an essential component of democracy and economic development. South Africa has an unfortunate history of violating property rights, with many people still lacking access to land in the post-Apartheid era.  

The ANC government's proposed solution is a radical policy of Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC), in the form of an amendment to the property rights clause of the Constitution, as well as the proposed Expropriation Bill. If passed, these constitutional and legislative changes would severely undermine the existing protections for private property rights.   

In this episode of the 'Solutions With David Ansara' podcast, David speaks with Terence Corrigan, project manager at the Institute of Race Relations, about the origins of the EWC debate and the risk that EWC poses to South Africa's economy. Terence and David explore alternative solutions to the land problem and the power of freehold title as an instrument for improving access to land for the poor.  

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Nearly three decades after the end of apartheid, South Africa continues to struggle from high levels of poverty and unemployment. Ostensibly to rectify this, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has advanced a policy framework of "Black Economic Empowerment" (BEE), which identifies disadvantage on the basis of race and allocates benefits accordingly.   

David Ansara speaks with Dr Anthea Jeffery, Head of Policy Research at the Institute of Race Relations, about the ideological underpinnings of BEE, and why it has led to vast capital accumulation for a small, politically-connected elite.  

Dr Jeffery proposes an alternative solution: "Economic Empowerment for the Disadvantaged" (EED). Under the EED policy, empowerment interventions would be made on the basis of socio-economic status, rather than on racial grounds, with the private sector being incentivised to play a more active role in the distribution of welfare.

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The global monetary system is undergoing a period of unprecedented uncertainty and instability. At the same time, there has been a surge of innovation in the form of digital currencies. 

David Ansara speaks with Los Angeles-based macro strategist and economist, Rob Price, about how digital currencies such as Bitcoin could provide a solution to the problem of 'unsound money'.  

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READ Rob Price's website: https://soundmoneymacro.com/  

FOLLOW Rob Price on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sound___Money

South Africa's economy is stuck in a low-growth trap. Investment has dried up, and unemployment is soaring. Many of these problems are caused by bad governance and policies that constrain economic freedom.   

In this episode of the Solutions Podcast, David Ansara speaks with John Endres of the South African Institute of Race Relations about how market-friendly reforms could reignite the SA economy and lift millions of people out of poverty.  

READ ‘Growth and Recovery: A Strategy to #GetSouthAfricaWorking’ by John Endres: https://irr.org.za/reports/occasional-reports/files/irr_report_14_0_2020_national_growth_strategy.pdf

On 24 April 2021, US President Joe Biden officially recognised the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1916 in what was then the Ottoman Empire (today's Turkey). What are the implications of this for the geopolitics of the Caucuses region, and particularly for the US relationship with Turkey?   

David Ansara speaks with Armen K. Hovannisian of the Armenian Bar Association in Los Angeles about the historical events that led to the death of over a million Armenians and the significance of President Biden's recent announcement.  

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David Ansara speaks with Marian Tupy, editor of www.HumanProgress.org, about how the world is better off than we think it is and why we shouldn't take this progress for granted.   

(0:56) How absolute poverty is declining around the world 

(5:38) Income inequality and economic progress 

(10:20) Population growth and natural resources 

(16:18) Is global warming a genuine threat? 

(21:45) COVID-19 and government responses to the pandemic 

(25:08) Democracy and economic development 

(29:40) The threats to progress in South Africa 

(33:04) Political polarization in the United States 

(38:07) Property rights and the rule of law 

(42:26) How individuals can preserve progress.   

READ 'Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know: And Many Others You Will Find Interesting' by Marian Tupy and Ronald Bailey: https://www.amazon.com/Global-Trends-Every-Smart-Person/dp/1948647737