The real role of the government

ASKING people what the job of the government is, I get the answer that the government’s job is to create jobs.

The government’s real job is to create an environment that is conducive to sustainable job creation.

The first step in achieving this is a government’s job to create a “common weal” defined as the happiness, health and safety of the people of a community or nation. Commonwealth comes from common weal.

And that first step is based on governance. My simple (after a lot of thinking) definition of governance is defending our borders.

So the government’s first job is “defender of the environment”. Defender of our borders: Who enters. What comes in and what is allowed to go out. Defending our fish. Defending our land and removing pollution and corruption from our land.

The Bill of Rights in sections eight and nine of the constitution says that everyone is equal before the law and that a “juristic person” is also equal. Therefore, a company like Eskom enjoying monopoly privileges is illegal.

Parliament, representing “the will of the people”, can put in place supporting mechanisms so that everyone is treated equally, rich and poor, and so that small businesses can compete with big businesses on a level playing field.

In the light of South Africa’s recent elections, let us remember our and our elected representatives’ responsibilities, and let us acknowledge that our environment and its governance comes before anything else. DAVID LIPSCHITZ Cape Town