• This column was first published in Maverick, 22 February 2007. Go to www.maverick.co.za to subscribe to it in full print glory.

The ANC government is falling into the same socio-economic policy trap that bedevilled the Nats. And it will fall much harder.

What would one call an economic policy that lauds public works programmes to combat unemployment, that indulges in grand social engineering schemes involving forcible market interventions, or that advocates price caps and wage floors in the vain hope that this will solve perceived supply or demand problems? What about an industry of which half is state-owned and under-performing, and half is highly regulated and subject to a myriad tariffs, quota requirements and levies to protect favoured local industries at the expense of local consumers? What would we call a policy that is opposed to the self-indulgent materialism of the modern, Western world, as Mbeki declared himself to be in his previous State of the Nation speech?

If it reminds you of national socialism, you wouldn’t be far wrong. It is little different from the economic policies of the old National Party, other than that instead of benefiting a small minority, the policies are now intended to benefit all South Africans – critical though that one difference is.

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Is this thing on?

Okay, I’ll bite. I’ll blog. I’ll add my off-key tune to the white noise of the internet.

Who am I? I’m Ivo Vegter. I write and argue for fun and profit. I live and work in South Africa as a columnist and magazine journalist, but I always keep some orange gear ready in support of Holland, the country of my birth.

As a bass line, I’ll publish some of my work here. I write columns (and other stuff) for several magazines. In the usual course of events, expect a couple of monthly columns to appear here for your online convenience. As accompaniment, I’ll post observations, arguments, notable quotes and quirky quips about technology, economics, politics, and anything else that’s mildly entertaining. Sometimes, they may even be my own.

You may wonder about that avatar. It’s what I’d look like if I wore a trench coat and carried a lantern and morning star. Actually, it’s our unofficial family emblem. It represents a Danish night watchman, which appears to be the medieval origin of the surname “Vegter”.

Now that I’ve figured out how to write stuff, please excuse me while I figure out the rest of this blogging software.