Former FirstRand chair Roger Jardine is available to be part of the solution to the “national problem” after many people approached him.
But though his spokesperson on Sunday confirmed Jardine’s intention to go into politics, he stopped short of confirming his presidential ambitions.
Under the headline “Roger Jardine for president,” the Sunday Times reported on Sunday that soon after Jardin stepped down as chair of SA’s most valuable banking group, he met DA leader John Steenhuisen to discuss the possibility of being the face of the Multi-Party Charter in the watershed 2024 general election.
Jardine’s spokesperson told Business Day on Sunday that the former FirstRand chair believes SA needs capable and ethical leaders in government who will recruit and support competent and service-orientated civil servants who are respected by the public.
“As to being a candidate for president, speculation surrounding the political landscape is to be expected at this time. It recognises the urgent and sincere desire to see a better future for our country.
“Since Roger announced his departure from corporate life to be part of the solution to our national problem, a range of people have reached out to him. He in turn is keen to engage with a wide range of people including business, political and civil society actors and movements committed to working collaboratively to deliver the SA we all want,” said the spokesperson.
Jardine is no stranger to government and politics.
He comes from an activist background and was one of the youngest directors-general, appointed at 29 to head the department of arts, culture & technology in the government of Nelson Mandela.
With polls showing the ANC could lose its electoral majority, the focus is increasingly on what kind of coalitions might emerge after the election.
The DA earlier in 2023 championed the formation of the Multi-Party Charter, recognising no single opposition party will be able to garner enough votes to oust the ANC from power.
The charter includes the DA, IFP, Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and ActionSA.
Asked if discussions between Steenhuisen and Jardine were endorsed by the party’s federal council, its chair, Helen Zille, said: “This issue is not in my lane.”
FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald said that the DA is at liberty to do what it wants outside the charter.
“I am not aware of the DA discussions. The charter cannot have a presidential candidate because members of the charter are independent political parties. It is clearly stated in the first clause,” Groenewald said.
“If Mr Jardine wants to become a presidential candidate he must be elected as an MP first and therefore will have to join a political party or register a new party. The [charter] is not a political party. I do not know Mr Jardine.”
Prof Susan Booysen, director of research at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, said the move to bring in Jardine would unlock huge amounts of money from the private sector, where Jardine spent most of his career after he left the civil service years ago.
“If Jardine enters the fray and that seems to be all but confirmed at this stage, he will be entering a political field that is crying out for new leadership — but his work will be cut out for him. Bringing in a person like Jardine, his credentials notwithstanding, will be a confirmation by the DA that it has not cultivated the necessary type of leadership that the political landscape in SA requires.” Booysen said.
Volatility
Bank of America on Friday said SA’s election might bring volatility in markets, warning the outcome may further weigh on already weak budget balances.
“We are underweight on SA’s external debt given rich valuations and likely tense and competitive elections in early 2024, which could lead to fiscal slippage. [It] is an election year where the governing ANC could potentially lose its majority.”
Jardine has advocated small government and getting the private sector to drive economic growth. In his last note to shareholders as FirstRand’s chair, he expressed frustration at the slow pace in implementing reforms.
“It has been a consistent refrain in my chairman’s reports that the private sector has both the financial resources and the skills to partner with the state,” he wrote in the company’s annual report earlier in 2023.
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