Old Mutual chair and former finance minister Trevor Manuel has made a scathing assessment of the country’s political leadership, saying the time has come for government to get its house in order to resolve myriad challenges facing the country.
In his message to shareholders in the company’s integrated report released on Friday, Manuel said that while the group produced commendable results in 2022, this came despite the negative effect of load-shedding on daily operations, especially at branch level.
“I express the view that solutions can be found for other similar challenges by appropriate and timeous government action. The country is entitled to a speedy resolution to the epidemic of crime and corruption.
“Similarly, there needs to be a swift response to the infrastructure requirements, both in respect of new builds and, perhaps more importantly, infrastructure maintenance,” said Manuel.
“There can be no doubt that SA’s rampant corruption, unchecked crime and alarming descent into lawlessness [have] been exacerbated by a lack of strong leadership and political will. I believe it is an appropriate time to make the call for administrative clarity on how the many governance crises that currently beset SA will best be addressed.”
The country has faced many infrastructure problems, particularly in the energy and rail space. In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa summoned the Transnet board and executive management to the Union Buildings and directed the ailing state-owned entity to “implement reforms swiftly and completely to turn around the crisis in SA’s logistics system”.
Manuel’s dire assessment of the country’s political leadership comes after MTN CEO Ralph Mupita warned that SA risks spiralling into a failed state, a concern shared by others such as RBPlat CEO Steve Phiri.
“I’m not saying we’re there [yet] but inaction could lead us there,” said Mupita.
Failed state
“Things we need to tackle: the energy crisis that we’re experiencing right now. Sustained stage 4 is going to inhibit growth in the country. There’s the logistics issue, which we feel less of, but we do feel some of it. And then there’s crime and corruption. Those are the things we say could lead us to a failed state if we don’t act,” Mupita said.
Remgro CEO Jannie Durand recently called for greater urgency in implementing reforms that would build private sector confidence, saying that while there has been progress in implementing some structural reforms, there is still a trust deficit between the government and the private sector. And a year ago, former president Thabo Mbeki delivered a scathing critique of Ramaphosa at the memorial service of former ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte.
“There is no national plan to address the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It doesn’t exist ... to serve the people requires that we address these issues,” said Mbeki.
Manuel told Old Mutual shareholders that given the importance of the SA market to the group, it is committed to working with the government to improve conditions for doing business in the country.
“This covers regulatory certainty, response times for regulators and administrators, and the general applications and consistency of rules. This is an ongoing challenge that requires an openness of approach and reasonable access for our officers,” he said.
Manuel served for years in the ANC’s highest decision-making structure between conferences, the national executive committee. But in 2022, he told talk radio 702 he had let his party membership lapse after former ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe called him a “free agent” for saying former president Jacob Zuma should pay back the money used for his Nkandla homestead upgrades.
Wake-up call
SA was greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force in February, joining 25 other countries considered to be failing to identify adequately and halt illicit international financial flows, including money laundering, terrorist financing and the proceeds of crime. Nigeria, Cambodia and Syria are among those countries.
Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson said in the integrated report that the greylisting was a wake-up call for SA.
“Addressing crime and corruption, with a deliberate focus on rebuilding government institutions as well as appropriately tackling the issues of money laundering, proliferation and terrorist financing, is essential to restoring SA’s credibility and driving its recovery,” he said. With Mudiwa Gavaza
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