Justice Malala sheds light on SA economy at Veritas breakfast

Journalist and political commentator, Justice Malala was the keynote speaker at the Veritas Inc first anniversary breakfast that was held on Friday and explained how business should react to the current political environment.
Veritas Inc hosted this breakfast to thank clients for their continued support. Guest speaker Tommy van Zyl preceded Malala and said it is a pleasure to work with Veritas Inc.
“Someone once asked me what the perfect financial support services provider would look like and my answer was short and sweet, Veritas Inc,” he said.
Malala said it is important to know what to worry about. He divided uncertainty into two categories, substantive and institutional. “Institutional uncertainty speaks to the legitimacy of state institutions, while substantive uncertainty is about the perception of the ruling elite and what I like to call political noise.”
He explained that it is very important to keep state institutions pure, truthful, credible and fair. “We cannot allow our institutions to be used for political gain and these bastions of democracy, like our judiciary system, must work for the rich and the poor.”
Using the Nkandla issue as example, he said the problem with this overspend is not that it became such a huge number, but the fact that there were no checks and balances to stop spending once the budget was exceeded. “The real issue is therefore an institutional one.”
The good news, according to Malala, is that civil society still has a voice in South Africa. “When President Jacob Zuma replaced Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene with Des van Rooyen business owners, community leaders, opposition parties and many others quickly responded. This overwhelming response caused power to shift and after four days Zuma gave in and replaced Van Rooyen with the established and accomplished Pravin Gordhan. We must realise that ordinary people still have a voice in South Africa and we must learn to use it effectively.”
Malala warned that business owners have to prepare to come under fire from both politicians and disenfranchised society and that racism must be addressed before the issue starts to hurt businesses in South Africa.
However, he believes that if politicians stay out of financial policy making institutions like Treasury and the Reserve Bank, South Africa will be able to avoid being downgraded by international credit rating bodies. “I also believe that it will be very brave of Zuma to remove Gordhan from his post as history has shown how civil society will react.”
“People in Scandinavia say there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. This is also true of the political and economic climate in South Africa. If we don’t adapt, we won’t survive,” he said.
Policy issues that will have an effect on business include land claims, mining and minerals, privatisation, Black Economic Empowerment, nuclear energy, and the influence of ties with China and Russia. Unemployment is also a crucial issue that has to be addressed as an effective 36,3% of South Africans are currently unemployed and this places a lot of strain on the economy.
“What should we do? South Africa has a comprehensive and very well thought out National Development Plan and 93% of parliament supports it. It is up to society to put pressure on state institutions to implement this plan,” Malala concluded.

Story  and photos: MARKI FRANKEN
>>marki.observer@gmail.com

Featured photo: Christine Espach, Veritas Inc Director thanks Justice Malala, keynote speaker, for the insight that he has provided.