BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Change – through the ballot and not the bullet
By Kim Kemp
Officially junk status , South Africa sits on the precipice of an economic abys , while Webster Mfebe optimistically points out our advantages .
South Africa has seen it all . We have seen the political manoeuvring and corruption within the private and public sectors ; we have witnessed up close the harsh Competition Commission ’ s verdict delivered to the major construction companies guilty of colluding during the construction of World Cup stadia . We have seen our ‘ leaders ’ squirm and wriggle off legal hooks , adroitly countering accusations of graft and corruption . While we have seen it all , so has the international arena , and now , South Africa has officially slid to the bottom of the economic scale with S & P rating agency downgrading South Africa ’ s local currency debt to ‘ junk ’ status . Webster Mfebe , CEO of SAFCEC , is adamant that South Africans have “ an obligation to draw attention to the issues we have , and making the leadership accountable ,” he says .
“ I think that South Africa is a great country and I think it has great people , intellectual capacity , and resources to make it work . How we harness that intellectual capacity is vital ; we need to make South Africa an inclusive society as defined by the Constitution . We need to promote and entrench a culture of human rights . It is the responsibility of every citizen in both the private and public sectors to realise this ,” he adds with fervour . He describes three important values around which he focuses his leadership role , namely humanity , harmony , and democracy . “ The value of humanity seeks to promote the advancement of the Bill of Rights within the corporate environment and within the private sector , and also
36 - CEC February 2018 promote and entrench the values of Ubuntu : ‘ You are because I am , we are because you are .’ This fundamental influence can make us pull together in one direction — because we rely on each other ’ s strengths and uplift where we see each other ’ s weaknesses .” Mfebe continues : “ The intention of the Constitution is that whatever is done is not done arbitrarily . That is why I frown upon slogans like : ‘ White monopoly capital ’. To me , it seeks to undo the good work and foundation that was laid by Nelson Mandela and which is dictated to by the preamble of the South African Constitution , that ‘ South Africa belongs to all who live in it ’. Notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution says further : ‘ there should be legislative measures to address the imbalances of the past ’. “ However , we cannot begin to define a certain section of the population as enemies . I liken that to the apartheid era of ‘ Die swart gevaar ’ — and now we have a new ‘ Wit gevaar ’. When leadership fails to convince the citizenry of what it has done or where it has taken the country , the easiest thing to do is to play on racial emotions . It is absolutely wrong — it is not the vision of OR Tambo and of all the leaders , the forebears of the ANC , and all others who fought to liberate this country so that we have an inclusive society , which is united , non-racial , non-sexist , and which is democratic and prosperous . That is the kind of society to which we should all be aspiring .” This observation is against a backdrop of diminished standing within the African continent . It is no small secret that South Africa is no longer the powerhouse of
Africa . It has SOEs that are bankrupt , with corruption and graft reported on an almost daily basis . Not only is there a funding issue for projects , come the 2017 / 18 fiscal year , the budget deficit estimate widened to 4.3 % of GDP from 3.1 % previously , as economic growth slowed and revenue collection fell .
Renewing the powerhouse of Africa
“ In pursuit of the objective of a prosperous society , obviously the private sector should spearhead job creation ,” Mfebe states . “ No government creates jobs ; it should create a conducive environment in which it can happen . I believe that South Africa still has an opportunity to become the powerhouse of Africa . If you look at the percentage of all foreign direct investment flows into Africa , in 2016 , South Africa gained 20.6 %, which is an increase of 6.9 % up from 2015 . This means that the country has become the preferred destination for attracting foreign direct investment in Africa , and it is in the top 25 global destinations for investment .
“ We have a highly diversified economy , notwithstanding the fact that we are still not doing enough in terms of processing the primary products . If you look at Africa , 50 % of local primary products leave its shores unprocessed . We need to build the infrastructure to deal with beneficiation in South Africa . Also , we are in a pole position because comparatively , we have an installed electricity generation capacity of 45.4 %. If you consider by comparison , Nigeria has an installed generation capacity of 7.4 %, six times less than ours . Electricity powers industry and the economy and