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Opportunity Issue 95

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LAUREATE LEADERS Heal

LAUREATE LEADERS Heal our people, lead our land Busisiwe Mavuso and Dr Mamphela Ramphele declare that national interest must be placed first. It is time to transform South Africa. Covid-19 has exposed just how fractured South Africa’s democracy is and how unequal we are as a society. We need rational, pragmatic choices from government, labour and business, says Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO, Business Leadership South Africa. “If this pandemic doesn’t make us, as leaders, carefully think about how we sustainably start to deal with our structural economic flaws, then I don’t know what will.” Mavuso avers the 2020 economic outlook was bleak with a projected 0.3% economic growth. Unemployment data recently released a recorded 2.2-million job losses in the second quarter of the year, and that the economy shrank simultaneously by an annualised 51%. South Africa is hampered in its response to the pandemic because many citizens lack access to running water, have no money for sanitiser, and live in overcrowded housing. Countries that will bounce back quickly are those with a “diamond” economic structure, with an 80% middle class. “It is the middle class that carries the economies, not the rich,” articulates Mavuso. “The biggest ticking time bomb in this country is inequality, which undermines social stability, and means the quest of attaining a sustainable and conducive environment within which business should operate will continue to be elusive. It is for this reason that, as business, we need to be more intentional and deliberate about the role we play in society. “The question we need to be asking is what now, where to from here, and what is required from each of the social partners in moving the country forward. All of our efforts need to be geared towards economic recovery, and what the country needs right now is rational, pragmatic choices to guide our actions.” Mavuso acknowledged that government controls the policy environment within which all operate. “We need the government to come up with a president-led and cabinet-backed plan that we can all get behind with a common issue.” Nedlac partners had presented the president with a proposed economic recovery strategy, and “what is required now is clear and decisive leadership from the top”. Businesses can choose to work with fewer people, or with more machines, to increase productivity. “A great deal of cost is created by regulation. Employers spend a great deal on labour disputes that end up in the CCMA or court, a lot of production is lost to strikes, and many employers sit with unproductive or even destructive staff members because it is too difficult ___ __ Countries that will bounce back quickly are those with a “diamond” economic structure, with an 80% middle class. “It is the middle class that carries the economies, not the rich,” articulates Mavuso. Let us agree that as a country we seem to lack the political courage to address some of the stringent labour regulations, and to have an honest and frank discussion with our labour constituents in this regard

LAUREATE LEADERS to fire them.” An economy able to quickly replace unproductive workers at minimal cost will be one that employs many more workers, because on average they will be more productive, and the all-in cost of hiring them would be lower. “Let us agree that as a country we seem to lack the political courage to address some of the stringent labour regulations, and to have a honest and frank discussion with our labour constituents in this regard. It is about time that labour came to the party by working with business to preserve and create more jobs. There needs to be serious consideration around short time and amendment of some of the rigid labour regulations.” [Short time is working fewer hours as an alternative to retrenchment.] “South Africa’s social injustice is business’ crisis as much as it is the government’s crisis. It is our crisis because, as a grouping that has levers to economic power, we have a special responsibility to work firmly towards this agenda. Let us agree, as business, that some things are bigger than selfinterest and the profit motive. And those are issues of national interest that need to be elevated above all,” Mavuso concludes. “It cannot just be left to government to fix our structural inequalities as a country because, unfortunately for us, government’s failure is South Africa’s failure. And South Africa’s failure is business’ failure. As the adage goes, show me a failed state, and I’ll show you a failed nation.” ___ __ “Let us agree, as business, that some things are bigger than self-interest and the profit motive. And those are issues of national interest that need to be elevated above all.” The Covid-19 crisis offers South Africans opportunities to tackle the unfinished agenda of transforming our society into a more equitable, resilient and prosperous democracy that promotes the wellbeing of all people and our planet. This call to action was made by academic, businesswoman and political thinker, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, co-founder of ReimagineSA. The greatest leaders in extraordinary times in world history are not necessarily those who had demonstrated their capacity to lead in normal times, asserts Dr Rhamphele. “On the contrary, leaders who rise to the demands of extraordinary crises tend to be those willing to take the risk to be creative, inventive and courageous. Such leaders succeed because they dare to break from the known to the unknown, from the familiar to the unfamiliar, from traditional to non-traditional ways to open up new pathways to more promising futures.” LEADERSHIP IN CHALLENGING TIMES Racism, sexism and inequity “that have reared their ugly heads with a vengeance over the past few years” are warning signs that unless we address these legacy issues, future generations will be hampered by the burden of these ghosts. Corporate South Africa can lead the charge in this healing work as businesses return to the workplace, says Dr Ramphele. “There is an imperative to initiate processes of deep conversation in safe spaces between leaders, managers and workers about how to work together to create a new normal in the workspace. Healing conversations have to go beyond the wounds of the past to embrace the fragilities in work, family, community and public life that Covid-19 has laid bare. “Critical, responsible and accountable citizenship is a key success factor of stable societies across the world. We now know that where there is trust between people in the workplace, productivity, creativity and innovation thrive.” LEADING THE EMERGENCE FROM POST-COVID EMERGENCY Humanity is consuming 1.7 times the resources we should, and the world is approaching a tipping point on climate change. Protecting the future of human civilisation and the wellbeing of our planet requires dramatic interventions. These include human and economic transformation, with a radical overhaul of corporate governance, finance, policymaking and energy systems towards greater transparency and accountability. We need to address three obstacles: • Shareholder- instead of stakeholder-driven business • Finance used in inadequate and inappropriate ways • Governance based on outdated economic thinking and faulty assumptions Enterprises need to listen to trade unions and workers’ collectives, consumer advocates and others in the rest of society. Corporate governance must reflect stakeholders’ needs instead of shareholders’ whims. Government assistance to business should be less about subsidies, guarantees and bailouts, and more about building partnerships. Strict requirements should be attached to any corporate or state-owned enterprise bailouts so that taxpayers’ money is used productively and generates long-term public value. “We need to reimagine and rebuild governance systems from the local, provincial and national levels and to strengthen critical citizenship to ensure that we, the people, relentlessly demand accountability in a responsible manner within the ambit of the law. Destruction of public property in the name of public anger and rage must end. Citizen accountability must rest on taking ownership of these public assets and www.opportunityonline.co.za | 15

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