KLCBT breakfast welcomes Jean de Villiers and Maarten Ackerman

MBOMBELA – On Tuesday, the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) hosted Citadel’s chief economist and advisory partner, Maarten Ackerman, as well as the head of the company’s philanthropy division, former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers at Emnotweni Arena.

Ackerman elaborated on the recent national budget speech and what the future could possibly hold for the South African economy, pre- and post-election.

“Following an indisputably tough 2018, the year ahead should provide some welcome relief for emerging markets, given the US Federal Reserve’s more cautionary approach to hiking interest rates, a possible US-China trade agreement that should calm global economic volatility, and the promise of further Chinese stimulus,”

Ackerman said.

According to him, and unfortunately for South Africa, local economic growth is likely to remain fairly muted at around1,2 per cent in 2019. “The country’s direction after the elections will then depend on the election outcome.

“If Ramaphosa can get the mandate needed to implement the policies necessary to boost the economy, business and consumer confidence will likely rebound, supporting the financial markets. Add to this scenario a more favourable global environment, and we could also see some welcome relief for South Africa, the JSE and the currency in the second half of the year.

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“However, if Ramaphosa fails, we could see a repeat of 2018, with an economy slowly going nowhere and a currency under further pressure,” Ackerman explained.
Ackerman also placed a focus on Eskom and how the entity impacts the country’s economy.

“Credit rating agencies, and perhaps most importantly Moody’s, seem to be giving us the benefit of the doubt for now, but the reality is that without action, and fast, Eskom and other beleaguered state-owned enterprises will soon tip South Africa’s fiscus over the edge into junk status.”

De Villiers, on the other hand, noted that “the budget is what the government is doing for the country, but what are you doing for the country?”. He explained that his job as head of the philanthropy department was to ensure that the social investments of a business or person is used in such a way that it will be sustainable.

“We have developed a vehicle to ensure that your contribution is used in such a way that it is made easy, more thoughtful and has a greater impact,” De Villiers said.
He explained that his career as a rugby player prepared him for this job, “because that is when I learned how great an impact pulling together can really make”.

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