Time to close the open till and end the era of the permanent politician
South Africa’s political system rewards politicians for staying in the job rather than delivering for the people who pay their salaries. We need a radical reset: treat public office as a finite tour of duty, with term limits, cooling-off periods and deferred pay that make leaving clean more rewarding than clinging to power.
South Africa's political system rewards politicians for staying in office rather than serving the people who pay their salaries. To address this issue, a radical reset is needed with term limits, cooling-off periods, and deferred pay that make leaving office more rewarding than clinging to power. The author, Themba Dlamini, is a husband, father of four, pastor, and chartered accountant who advocates for this change.
He argues that South Africans elect party lists rather than individual politicians, giving parties control over career paths instead of voters. The governing party recently fought over the registration deadline for the upcoming elections, demonstrating the power of the list system. The author contends that the problem lies in the performance measure of staying in office rather than delivering for the people.
He proposes a tour of duty model for public office, where politicians serve a limited term, take a cooling-off period, and receive deferred pay, making it more rewarding to leave office than to cling to power.
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