Open access to information platforms, AI-driven education, and automated public-finance auditing tools would materially change how citizens engage with the state, says Casey Sprake, chief marketing strategist at AG Capital.
“Even a conservative improvement in fiscal efficiency from, say, 50% of public spending reaching productive use to 75%, would feel equivalent to a massive increase in infrastructure and social investment, without raising a cent in additional tax revenue.
“South Africa’s resistance to Starlink is therefore not about regulation, but rather foregone growth. While Lesotho accelerates connectivity across difficult terrain, South Africa continues to defend an expensive, exclusionary status quo. In a world where data is capital and connectivity is infrastructure, blocking access is not neutrality. It is an active drag on economic progress.”
- Read the full opinion piece in our ‘Columns’ section.
