19 February 2009

What privatisation can do

Remember the Ministry of Works? Built roads and dams, maintained them too. The stereotype of an expensive, not very clever, lazy organisation.

It became Workscorp under Roger Douglas, you know that man that terrifies National and Labour so much with all those policies he implemented that neither have reversed. In 1996 the Nats sold the consultancy arm to a Malaysian firm, which invested in it Now it is one of New Zealand's most successful companies exporting services under the name Opus. Its head office is in Wellington, still.

The NZ Herald notes:

"Infrastructure consultant Opus International Consultants has exceeded expectations with increased revenue and profits, up around 25 per cent for 2008.

Revenue was $371.5 million, up 25.4 per cent on 2007, and the net surplus after tax was $17.5 million, up 23.4 per cent, for the year ended December 31, 2008, the company announced to the stock market today"

"Business acquisitions in the United Kingdom and in Canada increased Opus' total staff from 2236 to 2563, and it now operated from 81 offices world-wide."

Could you have seen Workscorp doing that, let alone the Ministry of Works?

Hardly.

Given some SOEs are world class in their field (e.g. Airways Corporation, NZ Post) you might wonder how, with private investment, some of our constrained state owned enterprises might perform if let off the leash. Ironically, with the money governments are pouring into infrastructure, as a panacea to recession, Opus is probably a company in one of the best places to grow from strength to strength.

Good job Roger Douglas ignored Jim Anderton. Good job Jim Bolger ignored Helen Clark, Winston Peters and Jim Anderton - and frankly the majority of you out there.

Yes, it is Malaysian owned, but almost its entire management is New Zealand based, and much of its staff are New Zealanders.

Oh the humanity!

So the left thinks the world will come to an end because the Nats are looking to trim small numbers of people that taxpayers are forced to pay for.

It is most bizarre that the left talk of economic illiteracy from the likes of Roger Kerr, when they seem to think it's ok to keep plundering taxpayers in a recession so that large numbers of effectively unproductive people can remain employed.

Let's make it clear, there are three types of people working for the state:

1. Those undertaking productive activity in enterprises or institutions that could be operated privately. e.g. electricity SOEs, roads, schools, hospitals.
2. Those undertaking core state activities that are necessary for a functioning liberal capitalist economy. e.g. Police, courts, prisons, defence, justice.
3. Everyone else. Who range from regulators to advisors to inspectors.

The first lot could probably do with an efficiency drive, which really only comes most effectively through privatisation, although the SOEs aren't a bad stepping stone to that.

The second lot definitely need a reallocation and focus on protecting citizens, rather than telling them what to do. However, given dissatisfaction over crime, there is more scope to move those people around rather than cut them.

The third lot would mostly be looking for something else to do under a Libertarianz government. There may be a tiny handful of advisors to handle the likes of diplomatic relations with other countries and treaties, and advice on law, justice reform and the like, but the rest? Either sit in the private sector advising private entities or become productive.

The trimming of the Nats will be minor compared to the bloating of the state sector under Labour - something that all taxpayers should be concerned about. I suspect more than few on the left worry because no one else is likely to employ them!

Imagine if, for example, a cost benefit analysis was done for every state sector employee as to whether they generated more net benefits than taxpayers would if you gave them the money back. That is the type of thinking ACT likes.

I just think theft is theft, and you are either honest that you believe in large scale legalised theft or you're not or you disagree with it.

An amendment for three strikes

Here's a thought.

Besides amending three strikes and you're out to being weighted to different crimes, how about excluding it when any crime does not have a specified victim?

That means:
- Consumption of drugs;
- Censorship violations that didn't involve recordings of people being victims;
- All traffic offences when no harm was caused, or likely threat;
- Blasphemy;
- Sex crimes that don't include force or minors;

Or how about simply saying it applies whenever force or fraud is applied to people's bodies or property?

Go on ACT - be the liberal party.

18 February 2009

Want to be a journalist in North Korea?

Then you better know how to write the right copy for the Korean Central News Agency about General Secretary Kim Jong Il on his birthday:

Like this

"the DPRK is holding you, an illustrious commander born of Heaven and a peerlessly great man in history, in high esteem as the sun of the nation and the dignity and national power of Kim Il Sung's nation are being demonstrated on the highest level."

or:

"You are a peerlessly brilliant commander of Songun who has performed immortal exploits before the country and nation, the times and history by leading the Juche revolutionary cause to victory for half a century and a peerlessly great man who enjoys boundless and absolute trust of progressive mankind.

or:

"You have performed exploits by building a prospering socialist land of bliss on this land through gigantic creations and changes and opening a new chapter in the confrontation with the U.S. and the cause of the country's reunification with your preeminent strategy and matchless courage and they are recorded in the human history to shed rays all over the world"

or:

"his extraordinary wisdom, outstanding leadership and matchless grit and pluck"

or:

"The Egypt-Korea Friendship Association released its bulletin titled "Kim Jong Il and his extraordinary leadership art" on Feb. 8, which said that Kim Jong Il is a person possessed of rare leadership art. His leadership art is characterized by the ability to combine politics and military affairs organically before anything else and then by the persistent power of execution to carry through something determined to do, it added.

The politics of creation to solve everything in a unique way without adherence to the existing formula and usage, the brilliant flexible politics--this is another important aspect of Kim Jong Il's leadership art, the bulletin stressed."

Certainly not adhering to the existing formula, but flexible?

Sad dictatorship of the month- Equatorial Guinea


Most will not have heard of Macias Nguema, I knew little of him until recently. Macias Nguema was the first President of Equatorial Guinea. President from 1968 to 1979. With some healthy competition, Nguema is, I believe, the most brutal and insane dictator that Africa has ever had.

Equatorial Guinea was a Spanish colony granted independence following strong domestic pressure in the colony, and from the UN. Oddly, none of Equatorial Guinea lies on the equator. Macias Nguema was elected in 1968 as President, having previously been a member of the territorial parliament. Following his election, he rallied against Spain (which, given rule by the fascist Franco, was understandable), which extended to harassment of Spanish nationals and Spanish owned businesses, which started to flee. He then proceeded to create a one-party state (the in thing at the time). He arrested his election rival and started rounding up political opponents to be imprisoned and executed. By 1972 he declared himself President for life. However, it wasn't just being a dictator, harassing imprisoning and killing political opponents that made him different, nor the rampant corruption and installation of relatives into positions of power.

No, Equatorial Guinea was about to be referred to as the Dachau of Africa.

Some of the most notable events under his rule were:
- Virtually all of the (tiny) resources of the government were put into internal security. Maintenance of electricity, water, roads and hospitals dried up, resulting in the progressive breakdown of the entire economy;
- The use of the word "intellectual" was banned. It is believed that this is because Nguema three times failed the Spanish civil service exam in his youth. He began a Khmer Rouge style purge of intellectuals, anyone wearing glasses was rounded up and taken away. Owning books was seen to be a sign of being suspicious;
- A drug addict, he had himself called "Unique Miracle" and "Grand Master of Education, Science and Culture". He increasingly believed he had magic powers;
- These "powers" saw him demand that lubricating oil for Malabo's (capital city) power station stop being purchased, as he thought he could lubricate it with his magic. The power station exploded within days, and Malabo was without electricity for the next few years;
- In 1973 he replaced the Constitution with one granting him absolute power with his political party, explicitly;
- His monetary policy was simple. He had the Central Bank governor executed and took the entire contents of the bank himself to his rural home;
- He demanded that churches end their services with "Forward with Macias. Always with Macias. Never without Macias". Priests who refused faced imprisonment or execution;
- Executions were carried out at the capital's stadium to the song "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkins (you know the song) blaring over loudspeakers. 150 at a time would face the firing squads. You'll never think of that song the same way again;
- In 1975 he banned all schools. He regarded education to be subversive;
- Fishing was banned, and all boats destroyed to stop people fleeing the country (the capital is on an island);
- In 1977 all churches were closed, by now Franco had fallen and Spain stopped hiding the excesses of the regime (as little news reached the outside world before then) and broke diplomatic relations;
- In 1978 the national motto was changed to "There is no other God than Macias Nguema"
- He banned foreign travel.

In conclusion, a third of the population fled the country, and 80,000 were killed. Macias Nguema was deposed after he shot members of his own family, who visited him for money. His nephew arrested, tried and executed him, and became President of Equatorial Guinea. Allegedly the reason why news of Equatorial Guinea stayed away from the world was because most Africa watchers and analysts are Anglophone or Francophone, not Spanish speaking.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is still President of Equatorial Guinea. You wont hear about what he did when his uncle was President, but he participated extensively in the arrests, tortures and executions of that period. He released political prisoners, and stop running the country as a terror camp - but he did not stop oppressing opponents, and maintains an iron grip on power. Maps are hard to come by, because they are not permitted of the capital. The media is owned entirely by the state or relatives of the President. Newsagents do not exist, with only a very limited circulation of newspapers and magazines, largely not for domestic consumption.

The difference is Equatorial Guinea now has oil - third biggest oil exporter in Africa. The big oil companies have set up, and have their own compounds near the capital which are self contained. They have to be, as Malabo still has almost no reticulated water or sewage, yet Equatorial Guinea has the highest GDP per capita in Africa, akin to that of the Czech Republic and South Korea. The private wealth of the President is estimated to be around US$600 million, and he has designated his son his heir apparent. His son has bought properties in LA, Paris and Cape Town.

You may now know why Mark Thatcher, and a bunch of others, attempted a mercenary style coup against this regime. You also know why Condoleeza Rice called President Obiang a "good friend". Good friend of ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil. Will Barack Obama treat him as a good friend too?

Bizarrely, Macias Nguema's daughter lives in the USA now, and defends him. She have birth to 19 children, starting at age 13. She went from a life of luxury, to being raped and tortured, to having to flee leaving most of her children behind. She has no contact with the country.

You just can't make half of this stuff up.

Sources: Daily Telegraph, Afrofiles

UPDATE: Seems some people are annoyed, so they tried to overthrow the President yesterday. The Daily Telegraph reports here. Though why you'd duplicate part of the story of Frederick Forsythe's "The Dogs of War", particularly when the President wasn't even in town, shows ridiculous incompetence.