FUTURE VISION
TRUDI MAKHAYA: Constitution must be central to economic policy making in SA
Economists need to engage more fully with the Constitution, as it has become clear that we cannot talk about SA’s economic trajectory — its terrible past, troubled present and hoped-for future — without appreciating the vision that animates that ideal future.
There are various ways in which the Constitution intersects with the economy. Foremost are the aspirations espoused in the preamble.
We, the people, adopt the Constitution as the supreme law of the republic so as to: "heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights … improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person". This has a touch of Amartya Sen to it, linking development to capability and freedom.This call for social justice finds articulation in the socioeconomic rights provided for in the Constitution. It also grants the right to property, freedom of trade, occupation and profession. It protects private enterprise, with implications for the kinds of economic policies that can be pursued. As the supreme law of the land, it also frames the contours within which economic policy is defined: an independent central bank, competitive and open procurement and procedures to pass the budget, among others. When it comes to economic visions, the old "isms" no longer serve us well: communism, capitalism and so...
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