The rand slide is another rare opportunity that seems destined to be lost. SA, since September 11 one of the safest places in which to live, visit and do business, has a chance also to become a leading economy. Ten essential, easy to understand actions are called for:

1. Make a significant cut in corporate taxes and bring the maximum marginal rate of personal tax in line;

2. Control the runaway growth of M0 money supply, a primary determinant of the rand's worth;

3. Scrap every vestige of exchange control. Its mere existence is bleeding us to death;

4. Offer a moratorium to residents on undeclared foreign assets. This will improve tax collection and, after scrapping forex control, be an efficacious rand hedge;

5. Take no more advice from the World Bank or IMF. Their Washington masters do not want SA to compete as a global investment destination but do want to buy our exports and privatised assets with cheap rand;

6. Cancel as much as possible of the arms deal;

7. Sell all major State assets to the highest bidders;

8. Use the proceeds to settle debt and pay a "liberation dividend" to previous victims of race discrimination. (A building plot to every homeless family would absorb less than 10% of State-owned land, immediately solve the housing problem and increase economic growth);

9. Reverse the trend of giving civil servants power to circumvent parliament. Insist on a cost/benefit analysis with every new law or amendment; and

10. Stop the nationalisation of water and mineral rights. The market hasn't been fooled, even if the media have.

With these measures in place, Zimbabwe and Argentina will seem a long way away.