The average age of the players in the Springbok rugby team is 30. So many of them have no memory of the 1994 moment, or the time in 1995 when Madiba — or was it Suzie the waitress? — wove their magic to help the Boks triumph at the Rugby World Cup at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Companies such as MTN and Vodacom were both established in 1994 — and like the Springboks, are among the towering brands built on the success of that watershed year of transition.
This week, MTN and Vodacom were among six companies that signed an agreement to deepen partnerships with African governments. The agreement, signed at the Mobile World Congress in Kigali, is meant to drive digital inclusion and mobile infrastructure development across the continent.
Coincidentally, it emerged this week that MTN has been ordered by the tax appeal tribunal in Nigeria to pay $72.6m (R1.3bn) in tax arrears. The way that Abuja bullies “foreign” companies has become as predictable as a rugby tackle — or a Springbok double hit on an opponent.
The agreement signed in Kigali is aimed at working with governments to standardise public policy across the country and could be an interesting development. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
It will take a major effort to create a business-friendly environment across the continent. South Africa dwarfs all other African countries in terms of having rules and institutions to protect business and investments.
It is something that predates the 1994 moment. Democracy helped to entrench a culture of protecting public institutions such as the judiciary and an independent central bank, alongside a rigorous capital markets infrastructure.
Nigeria is notorious for pulling gangster moves on corporations; sadly it is not the only country like that, and South African companies are not the only victims. The stories of executives being bullied in East Africa are harrowing. Threats of arrest are commonplace among company representatives.
Intervention at the diplomat level are often required. But it is not always possible for the South African government to intervene in such instances because it is stretched beyond capacity.
It is unfortunate that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) went into decline in step with the waning clout of the twins of Africa’s renewal, Thabo Mbeki and Olusegon Obasanjo. Nepad was meant to create a culture and systems for rigorous country peer review, and to inculcate a broad wave of sustainable development.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is a welcome initiative but if heads of government fail to champion it in their respectives countries, it could become as useful as the African Union anthem. Same with the Kigali telcos pact to grow inclusion.
The Springboks have proved to be an enduring brand that is a wonder to many across the globe. It is worth pondering how this public entity shielded itself from various factors at home to present itself as a durable global brand. In a word: resilience
Speaking of inclusion, the Springboks have proved to be an enduring brand that is a wonder to many across the globe. It is worth pondering how this public entity shielded itself from various factors at home to present itself as a durable global brand. In a word: resilience.
Rugby as a business case study was one of the topics dissected at a discussion hosted by Business France, the French export-promotion agency, on the sidelines of the RWC.
Rachel Kolisi, wife of the Bok captain and co-founder and CEO of the Kolisi Foundation, was one of the speakers at the event, which focused on the economic opportunities associated with rugby. Anotner attendee, Stavros Nicolaou, group senior executive at Aspen, described rugby as the “ultimate corporate sport”.
The way that Springbok rugby has developed a nonracial, diverse face is fascinating. Anyone who has not witnessed first-hand the uninhibited joy over a Bok triumph in a kasi tavern has an experience ahead of them.
But what rugby still lacks is class inclusion; it remains a sport played by those who have attended wealthy schools. The odds are that Siya Kolisi would not have risen to provincial-level rugby if it were not for Grey High School offering him a scholarship.
Over on the cricket pitch, the same goes for Proteas captain Themba Bavuma, who went to St David’s Marist Inanda. Real inclusion would mean that a typical township school would boast the facilities and coaching staff needed to compete against the likes of Grey and St David’s.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speechwriters have a tendency to describe South Africa as a resilient nation: “We are, at our most essential, a nation defined by hope and resilience,” Ramaphosa said during this year’s state of the nation address (Sona).
In his 2021 Sona, he said: “Like a wildfire that sweeps across the mountainous ranges where the fynbos grows, a deadly pandemic has swept across the world, leaving devastation in its path. And yet, like the hardy fynbos of our native land, we too have proven to be resilient in many ways.”
Africa needs much more than the “resilience” Kool-Aid to succeed. It needs innovation and excellence too. In any event, resilience is not about struggling for 30 years and remaining in the game; it’s about being able to bounce back like the Boks do, and make progress.
• Mkokeli is lead partner at public affairs consultancy Mkokeli Advisory.
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