Fiscal discipline

Our very own Dutch East India Company brought along an important officer - the Fiscal.  Founded in 1602, the Dutch East India Company was a state outside the state.  By mid-17th century it's maritime fleet numbered some six thousand ships.  The Cape of Good Hope, as Cape Town was known at the time was initially established as a by-product of Dutch merchant enterprise.  Wielding more than a big stick was the Company Official known as the Fiscal.  In many ways the Fiscal could be likened to a modern day Attorney General with extra rights to prosecute, judge, try and pass judgement.  To make the position even more appealing, the Fiscal was entitled to a portion of all fines levied.

In 1990, South African sculptor Buks van Staden produced a larger than life replica of the Fiscal to the general public.  The replica has been fashioned in Bronze and stands at the SAPS Museum in Muizenberg.  Interesting that this subject was chosen.  Looking back, 1990 was an important time in South African History.  The transition from white only to multi-party rule was proceeding inexorably.  Perhaps commemoration of the Fiscal was intended to remind us that we have come a long way in 300 hundred years.