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Magda Wierzycka’s Presentation

The FW de Klerk Foundation held their annual conference at the President Hotel in Cape Town and welcomed many esteemed guest and speakers to the event, one of the speakers being Magda Wierzycka.

The post MAGDA WIERZYCKA’S PRESENTATION AT THE FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE appeared first on FW de Klerk Foundation.

Delivered by Magda Wierzycka and published by the FW de Klerk Foundation:

“South Africa’s Position In The World Today From A Business And Ethical Perspective”

It is a privilege to participate in a conference that speaks to both the past, the present and the future SA.

Let me start with an anecdote which speaks to both where SA was and is, as well as to who FW de Klerk was.

  •  I met FW de Klerk in London – 2019 – PwC luncheon with investment managers – he was a guest speaker
  • He valiantly stood up and spoke about SA as an investment destination of choice – being supportive of the country he clearly loved
  • Faced barrage of accusations – mostly focused on corruption
  • I thought he needed help.  I remember standing up and saying  “My name is MW and I am proudly South African”.
  • McKenzie, SAP, Deloittes, KPMG, Bain (I think I skipped PwC) – they all looked at their plates and that was that.
  • When bribes are paid there is always the one that pays and the one that accepts – how much easier but emerging markets – McKenzie paid a mere $122m in fines for bringing down Eskom.  But I digress.

Much has changed since that lunch.

Jacob Zuma:

  • shadow of his former self, despite his gallery of rouges reappearing under the guise of the MK Party.
  • made EFF irrelevant

Cyril Ramaphosa is far from ideal.

  • We had greater hopes for what he can achieve.
  • The best description of him has been non-strategic and indecisive.  This has played out since his election.  What we can thank him for is that ANC’s share of the vote dropped to 40%.

We now have GNU.  The best thing about it is that it has brought about “accountability” to the table again.

It is also the most business-oriented climate that we have seen for a better part of 20 years.

Domestic business confidence is at its highest in years.

There is a lot of pollical bluster:

 

Lindiwe Sisulu: {2014 – 2018} Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu served as Minister of Human Settlements
from May 2014 until February 2018. She has a long history in South African politics and has held various ministerial
positions, including Minister of Defence. Sisulu’s tenure focused on improving housing access and addressing the
challenges of urbanization.

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