James Myburgh: “I have a dream for SA in 2017…”

On a few occassions Biznews founder Alec Hogg has referred to Politicsweb editor James Myburgh as a rarity. Why so? With a PhD from Oxford University he could choose from a 'smorgasbord' of opportunities available to the very smart with impeccable CVs. Yet he continues to make a living sharing his ideas, investing his money and energy in the online venture. And in keeping with this idea of sharing, Myburgh shares his South African dream for 2017 below. – Stuart Lowman

By James Myburgh*

"My dream is that having explored and exhausted all the alternatives, our political class – or a sufficient number of them – will finally settle on doing the right thing. In particular, they will turn their attention to building a capable state, able to guard us against both patronage politicians and predatory capitalists, and ensure the proper functioning of a free market economy. This will require implementing a system of open, competitive entry into the state, and merit-based promotion within it. All great nations – including China today – owe their success to the adoption of such reforms."

• James Myburgh is the editor of Politicsweb