Johannesburg - Chief executives yesterday left the comfort of their air-conditioned offices to join religious groups, civil society and labour unions in the Save SA campaign aimed at holding the government accountable and advancing the country’s constitution.
The campaign, convened by AngloGold Ashanti chairman Sipho Pityana, thrust the spotlight on state capture allegations.
The campaign comes in the wake of growing discontent amid allegations of state looting, corruption and fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan which were dropped by the National Prosecuting Authority on Monday.
Chief executives who joined the campaign included Chamber of Mines chief executive Roger Baxter, JSE chief executive Nicky Newton-King, Investec chief executive Stephen Koseff, Barclays Africa group chief executive Maria Ramos, and Standard Bank chief executive Simpiwe Tshabalala.
Baxter said that the chamber was taking a step against corruption. “Our focus is for good governance. Laws must be followed not only in government but also in the private sector,” he said.”It is not about personalities but that all stakeholders should play by the rules and ensure that people work within the law. Without good governance, the economy cannot grow.”
Newton-King said that despite state capture allegations, South Africa had a strong democracy with strong institutions, including the judiciary and the public protector, which had to be protected.
“Our democracy was tested with the municipal elections in August, and so was the public protector with the release of important reports,” she said.
She said business was focused on ensuring that the rule of law and the constitution were upheld. “The noise is never good and if it spreads it is bad for our democracy.”
Tshabalala said it was time for business to be clear about its role and what it stood for.
“We have the world’s greatest institutions, for example the National Treasury which works because of our constitution,” he said. “There are things we do not stand for, we need to stand up and speak up.”
Meganomics economist Colen Garrow said South Africa had witnessed signs of a responsible and maturing democracy, as well as the application of rights enshrined in the constitution.
He also said the campaign yesterday, where civil society was becoming more galvanised in their stance against corruption and capture by the state, was directed at a mere handful of reckless and opportunistic politicians who aim for self-enrichment, rather than alleviating the plight of the less fortunate.
“The good that can come of this is that economic hardship will likely encourage political change, hopefully a meaningful one which will pressure government to consider changes within the highest office in the land. It will be important that such change happens, if South Africans are to recover from the trough the economy is in. I feel that reality is dawning on many more South Africans today, as we witness vocal campaigning,” he said.
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