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PPSA has created a list of questions we felt were the most relevant to the coming CP election. The list was given to our 3 candidates, who were asked to provide brief answers.

Our three candidates were all gracious with their time and replied to each question. They’re answers are listed after each question, in alphabetical order.

PPSA believes that an informed choice is a wise choice. We hope South Africa will use the information our candidates have provided below as they decide where to place their vote on election day.

1 - Our population is lower than we’d like, making us more of a target than we’d like to be. In a nutshell, what is your plan for population growth and retention?

CALEW:
I will make sure that as many new players as possible are contacted, mentored and introduced to our forums and IRC. I will work to increase the number of citizens starting in South Africa. RL South Africans are the most valuable players as they are more likely to stick around and do everything for their country. By advertising our advantages in other countries I will try to increase our population through immigration.

STRYKE BLADE:
My class idea. Basically, newer citizens will have the chance to be able to learn how the game operates, and not have to worry about making mistakes because they didn't know something. It'll also make them more willing to play the game if it all doesn't seem so foreign.

ZAMRG:
I have a few ideas, some of which I mentioned in my campaign; advertising, local community websites and social networking. I have a secret weapon that if all goes well, will land us an article with a prominent local gaming magazine publisher.


2 - Many new citizens start the game away from Northern Cape, our only hospital region. How do you stand on placing additional hospitals?

CALEW:
2 & 3. I am against placing additional hospitals, simple because they cost a lot of gold and the benefits are in my opinion smaller than the disadvantages. The players starting in other regions can easily be relocated and by placing additional hospitals the, already mentioned, Fortress Strategy will have less impact.

STRYKE BLADE:
That's a toughie. Well basically, there's only one real place to place a hospital, it being Gauteng - the place where most of our players start at. Only problem, is that hospitals are A LOT of money, and we're not exactly the richest country. We have to make sure we can afford a hospital before we can even place one.

Whilst this is true, there are other ways to retain these players than placing additional hospitals; such as social development reaching out to them at an early age. An extra hospital now would not only be a waste of gov funds; but with v2 on the horizon, hospitals will have a limited useful life and change the way battles are fought. The other issue is that if we have multiple regions with hospitals, our population will dilute and we'll lose any effect of a single fortress region, especially given our small population.


3 - The flip side of hospital placement is fortressing. Where do you stand on the Fortress Strategy?

CALEW:
[See second question.]

STRYKE BLADE:
Brazil hates us, they want to have us under their control once again. Northern Cape is the only border they have on eSA, and all the people living here makes it harder for them to win the battles - with the wall being increased with every citizen -, and the cost increases for every citizen. Having our population here in Northern Cape gives us the best chance at defending against Brazil.

ZAMRG:
A fortress region can really only be achieved with a sufficient number of citizens staying in a region, and given our population, I wouldn't quite call Northern Cape a fortress 🙂 however that doesn't mean we need to spread our population as the greatest downside of a sparsely populated country and low population is the cheap cost to attack her regions. In our position and given our history with some of our neighbours, they'd keep pouncing until such a time that we aren't able to defend ourselves, our allies are busy elsewhere and we land up losing a region or 2.

4 - What do you see as the most important steps for V2 preparation?

CALEW:
Restructuring our military to make sure it will handle the transfer as smooth as possible and be able to operate in the best way possible right from the start. Also we need to prepare our market to make sure that we take advantage of the conversion from diamonds to titanium.

STRYKE BLADE:
V2....Well I guess I have to say the people who studied the Insider articles and whatnot have it easy, but the admins would give enough time between announcing the release date and the date itself to give everyone enough time to prepare for it.

ZAMRG:
We need to start building up an adequate government reserve for funds to be used towards the placement of hospitals on maps. With hospitals having a limited life and an area of effect on maps, we'll need to have our attackable regions covered at all times. It may also be a good time to look into a state run hospital company; however with our limited construction market as it is, we'll first need to see whether this would be feasible.

The mass of new specialised skills will only add to our current problems of a labour shortage in certain sectors. We won't be able to produce all raw materials and product parts domestically so we'll need to make sure our doors are open for importers, and this means maintaining favourable import tax rates which encourage international companies to sell on our markets.

In terms of military classes, I believe this is something the military should currently be looking into as it will require a complete restructuring of branches, companies and platoons. The concept of communication will be of the utmost important in getting orders out and the specific positioning of soldiers on maps, something which will be made a lot easier with the eSouth Africa Broadcast !! that I developed. The !! enables government and military commanders to push information and orders directly to the home page of citizens and soldiers, targeting specific groups such as cabinet, congress, joint military and/or multiple branches.


5 - An aspect of V2 getting a great deal of attention is Titanium. Where do you stand on leasing our High Titanium regions?

CALEW:
Every case in this topic must be considered differently. There are a few factors, which will affect the decision; renting cost, who wants to rent and for how long. Currently none of our allies (except Australia, who already have diamond) can reach us without invading a Phoenix country. If the possibility arrives I will consider it, but it will be on our terms, not theirs.

STRYKE BLADE:
We have 3 of them, and the only country we'd ever consider renting a region out to would be the eUS. A lot of people would think it'd be great, a lot of people would rather us remain whole. Personally, I'm on the fence, as a lot of factors go into a decision like that, some of which constantly change.

ZAMRG:
If we're able to use our titanium regions to their maximum economic potential, meaning we have sufficient labour to cover our companies at maximum efficiency, then we have no reason to lease out a region. We're unfortunately in the position where we do have a severe labour deficit, which together with our slow markets brought about by low consumption, has a direct impact on the domestic cost of production and market price of goods. We therefore aren't able to utilise our current regions to their maximum economic potential. If an ally comes to us with a proposal to lease a region, the revenue of which would be greater than we'd be able to earn ourselves through taxes, I'd certainly bring the proposal to the attention of congress.

I would say I'm pro the leasing of regions given the right circumstances; however it would have to be to a close ally and the proposal would first need to be passed through congress before I act on anything.


6 - The military and our militias are essential to our security. What is your policy on funding and training for the military and militias?

CALEW:
Militias are not government institutions, thus should not be funded by the government. However, our military should be funded with as much as we can spare. It's vital that they are able to operate in the best way possible. With all of our regions back in our hands we get a lot of revenue and if possible I would like to increase the military funding.

STRYKE BLADE:
Oh, without the military, we'd still be occupied, there's no doubt about it. They know exactly what they need to do, and they do it. I would want the eSAAF to be properly funded so they may continue being as such.

ZAMRG:
I believe the military is a key element of a successful country, the benefits of which are a strong defense, the strengthening of foreign relations through military aid, increased player retention, etc. If elected, I will push for the military to receive sufficient funding to operate at a level intended by the Chief of Staff.

I am favourable towards militias since they offer citizens an alternative and relieve some burden of management and funding from the government; however I don't believe that government should be obligated to provide financial support. The government would have no control over the utilisation of such funds like it does with the military.


7 - Where do you stand on EDEN and the Brolliance?

CALEW:
Both EDEN and Brolliance are our allies. Our military assist countries from both alliances and we have MPPs with countries in both alliance. However, I wish to take a step closer to Brolliance. This doesn't mean taking a step away from EDEN, but if accepted we should carefully look into joining the Bros.

STRYKE BLADE:
They helped us regain our country, there's no denying it. Our two biggest allies - the eUS and eAustralia - are part of the Brolliance, which has shown how much they care about us. I'd have to say in the event we had to choose, Brolliance would probably edge out in the end.

ZAMRG:
I am pro both alliances and would certainly welcome an invitation to join either; however if it comes down to choice, I'd go with our fellow bros rather than getting involved in a super-alliance. We have positive relations with members of both alliances and I will strive to maintain such relatios and continue to build new ones with members that hold similar values to ours.

I don't always agree with the decisions, offensives and occupations taken by member nations but on the whole, these two alliances haven't occupied our land against our will.


8 - What are the essentials of safeguarding against security risks, including Brazil, Argentina and PTOs?

CALEW:
We can't singlehandedly defends ourselves against either Brazil or Argentina. But with our allies and MPPs I don't consider us being in danger of an (a successful) invasion. We have a terrific team working to prevent PTOs and with the channers giving up I consider ourselves rather safe. Though, with our valuable raw material, future attempts from enemy nations are likely, so we should always be ready.

STRYKE BLADE:
Well physical threats fall under the eSAAF mostly, but PTO threats fall under MoS responsibility. As long as we have citizens wanting to keep this country in its own hands, I'm sure we can hold off any PTO, assuming we all work together.

ZAMRG:
We need to ensure that we have proper intelligence systems in place for the monitoring of citizens, watch lists and the triggering of events. The people that run this department are limited to the tools and resources at their disposal which is why I'm currently working on a high end click n play intelligence tracker. We also need to have sufficient planning for elections, be it the use of blockers in congressionals and the presidency or the coming together to support a single candidate when the country is at risk.

In terms of security from neighbouring attacks, we have numerous powerful MPPs that act as both a preventative and defense measure. I won't let our defensive guard down and will continue to renew these MPPs provided we have the funds to do so.


9 - Are you interested in expanding our realm of influence? Would you do that through adding regions, foreign affairs involvement, alliances or other means?

CALEW:
South Africa is too small to expand its territory, even less be able to hold conquered regions. For this reason I instead wish to increase our influence through "diplomatic" measures. By sending our troops to support our allies we show our allegiance and at the same time help decreasing the power of our enemy, Phoenix.


STRYKE BLADE:
Well considering every region around us is either heavy friend or heavy foe, that's pretty much out of the question. Foreign Affairs and alliances somewhat together, as a country has to be friendly with you if you ever want each others help, and Foreign Affairs does help somewhat. Largely, we increase relations with friendly nations, and hopefully become somewhat neutral to those who don't absolutely want to conquer us(I.E: Brazil).


ZAMRG:
If we had the military strength, allied support and funds to do so, I'd push for a South American invasion to give our friends over there a taste of war. I don't believe in the establishment of colonies and permanent occupations however I am favourable towards war. It keeps the game interesting, markets moving, gold flowing and it aids heavily towards player retention. It's one of the key drivers of this game and without it, we'd all be slitting throats in politics 🙂

I will definitely concentrate on improving our relations with allies; without them, we'd be a PHOENIX colony or permanent PTO playground. I will also evaluate all alliance options, continue negotiations and bring discussion to the attention of congress and cabinet. I won't force South Africa into an alliance but I think it would be beneficial for us to officially be part of a larger 'family' of countries.

PPSA thanks the candidates for participating and reminds the people of South Africa to vote for one of the above candidates today!