/ 5 April 2012

Business takes on interference comments

Business Takes On Interference Comments

Business on Thursday challenged a suggestion by the ANC that business must leave politics to politicians.

“We disagree in the strongest possible terms with the idea that business leaders should not participate in our nation’s political discourse,” said director for Business Leadership of South Africa Friede Dowe.

“Businesses are corporate citizens. They and the individuals who lead particular businesses have not only a constitutional right of equal importance but also a patriotic duty to join the debate about a post transition South Africa.

“To suggest that politics should be left to politicians is just wrong.”

Earlier in the week, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe lashed out at Nedbank chief executive Reuel Khoza, personally attacking him over his comments on South Africa’s leadership.

Speaking at a media briefing of the ANC’s top six leaders on Tuesday, Mantashe advised Khoza to stick to business and not venture into the political terrain.

Khoza, writing in Nedbank’s latest annual report released last Friday, said the country’s “strange breed” of leadership needed to adhere to the institutions that underpinned democracy.

Accountable democracy
The political climate was not a picture of an accountable democracy, he said.

“Our political leadership’s moral quotient is degenerating and we are fast losing the checks and balances that are necessary to prevent a recurrence of the past.”

Khoza said South Africans had a duty to build and develop the nation but also to hold their leaders accountable.

“We have a duty to build and develop this nation and to call to book the putative leaders who, due to sheer incapacity, cannot deal with the complexity of 21st century governance and leadership, cannot lead,” said Khoza.

Mantashe hit back, saying Khoza was deflecting attention from his own failures — he was handed a mandate to sell Nedbank but twice failed to seal the deal.

“I will be very worried if the business community begins to think it has a monopoly of thinking on political leadership,” he said.

“He is on the wrong platform … he must talk about business.”

‘Twisted logic’
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa joined the fray on Thursday, saying Khoza had a “twisted logic”.

Mthethwa said Khoza held in contempt the democratic and open society in which government was based on the will of the people.

“[He] casts the millions that voted this government into power as stupid.”

Mthethwa said Khoza’s comments were thoughtless and devoid of substance and undermined the values, prescribes and intentions of the country’s Constitution.

He said Khoza should use his standing in society to respond to issues facing society in totality and not be tempted to blame others.

“We do not have to remind Dr Khoza that in less than 20 [years] ago, he would not have dreamt of being a chairperson of Nedbank, if it was not [for] the relentless and selfless struggle of our people, led and guided by the ANC and its leadership that he despises so much today.”

Dowe said while Khoza did not need anyone to defend his views, the dismissive manner in which he was attacked was a disservice to the nation.

“The attack on a person by making dismissive and derogatory comments about them demeans the national discourse,” she said. — Sapa