 Regulators no solution Thanks to loyal moles, I did have insight into the contested draft report of Idasa’s Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI) before commenting on it, in passing. However, Idasa’s Richard Calland, who objected to my comments (Greens tarred with the same brush, Letters, February 10) had apparently not read your leader on “Filling in the policy potholes” (February 8) which nicely outlined the regulatory confusion that has stunted our development and highlighted my concerns about the EGI. The EGI methodology, established by its Washington-based funders, compares parliamentary and “independent” regulatory processes. So the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) gets high marks for elaborate public hearings but little attention is paid to their disastrous outcomes. As a student of economic governance, Calland knows that independent regulators were invented to facilitate private provision of public services, an important element of the unlamented 1990s Washington consensus. The argument is that regulators reduce “information asymmetry” and protect the public from private providers, but there has been inevitable “scope creep” and governance confusion. So now Nersa makes political decisions about what renewable energy is acceptable and tells (not asks) the public to pay through the nose for it. Starting from the position that independent (and often unaccountable) regulation is good, Calland and his colleagues manage to avoid the real challenge. SA is bedevilled by “pass-the- buck” government — since we can’t do the job, we appoint someone else to do it. In many cases, the new institutions — Nersa is a case in point — are unaccountable while institutional proliferation and confusion contribute to poor public performance. There are some good arguments for independent economic regulation in stable infrastructural service areas. But where big choices have to be made, with substantial policy implications, it is a good idea to keep structures simple and choices visible and democratic. That democratic alternative was unfortunately not on the EGI’s table and attempts to put it there were firmly rebuffed. Mike Muller Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . |
