Regulation is crucial to any democracy. A competent democratic state uses regulatory instruments to serve the public interest and prevent the abuse of power. Effective regulations constrain potential abuse by private players but also by public entities, including natural monopolies.
An effective state is one that has figured out an effective approach to regulation. Regulation can play a quietly heroic role, but it can just as easily become a stranglehold. When the state exercises regulatory power in a mindless way, or is overly entangled with economic activity, regulation turns into red tape. SA is fast becoming a red tape nation.
The notion of red tape originated in the 19th century when official rules and edicts were bound in red ribbons. Charles Dickens was one of the first to use this term to refer to slavish adherence to rules when he wrote: “Britannia is always before me, like a trussed fowl: skewered through and through with office-pens, and bound hand and foot with red tape.”
More recently, Arizona State University professor Barry Bozeman has defined red tape as “excessive or redundant regulation and adherence to formal rules that create unnecessary constraints on action and decision-making”. This rings true in SA where the state has become increasingly rule-bound, even when the rules are arbitrary and make no sense.
SA government leaders often seem to lack the confidence to question their own processes. They fall into the trap of believing that increasing the quantity of regulation will automatically increase its quality. They waste public resources on administering processes that add no value. In so doing they stifle initiative and drain the resources of businesses and households alike.
One good example of this is the current system of tourist visas. Would-be tourists from visa-requiring countries are put through an extraordinary ordeal that involves providing large numbers of documents, most of which have nothing to contribute to any meaningful decision-making process.
Myriad rules have been allowed to pile up over the years. SA visa offices around the world have been allowed to add their own requirements without any legal or administrative mandate. Applicants have been forced to hand in their passports for long periods, preventing them from travelling to other jurisdictions, sometimes for months on end.
Happily, this is all set to change as the home affairs department has recently announced that it will introduce an electronic travel authorisation system that is designed to slash red tape and create an efficient and rational basis for decision-making. Home affairs seems equally focused on improving the systems that govern identity and official records through a new, digital approach.
There are many other areas of SA life where regulatory processes need to be fundamentally reviewed. The state’s new focus on digital public infrastructure could provide a major impetus to the existing red tape reduction programme. But digitising an existing system is not enough if the system itself is irrational. Several red tape reduction projects have ran aground because they tried to create an electronic platform for an existing process without questioning the process itself.
This merely wraps a set of irrational rules in a modern skin. Every set of rules must be subjected to a simple question — what are we trying to regulate? Rules should be designed to facilitate effective and speedy decision-making, not to create processes for their own sake.
The process of red tap reduction deserves much greater attention within the state. Regulation is an art, and it is often a balancing act. Regulations must protect the public but not stifle dynamism. Above all, regulation must be focused on a clear objective.
• Bethlehem is an economic development specialist and partner at Genesis Analytics. She has worked in the forestry, renewable energy, housing and property sectors as well as in local and national government. She writes in her personal capacity.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.