Time for Zuma to go – Pityana

OUTSPOKEN business leader Sipho Pityana says the decision by credit ratings agency Moody’s to place several state-owned enterprises on review on Wednesday is further evidence of President Jacob Zuma’s disastrous management of the economy‚ and he should step down before it is too late.

Pityana is campaigning for business to take a political stand and call for Zuma’s resignation.

“Business needs to stand together with other sectors of society to demand a leadership that is transparent‚ accountable and free from corruption.

“The first step in that process is to demand that Zuma step down as president‚ before it’s too late‚” he said.

Moody’s announced on Wednesday that the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral)‚ the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)‚ the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Land Bank, as well as Eskom’s unsecured debt, were all in line for a downgrade due to rising concern among investors about growing risk from governance issues.

Moody’s said its primary concern was to assess whether the companies would continue to have access to the debt market and whether they could absorb higher funding costs.

Pityana called it significant but not surprising that Moody’s had highlighted concern about governance at stateowned enterprises (SOEs) and about South Africa’s political environment.

“Zuma made commitments to the international investor community earlier this year to stabilise SOEs and to project policy certainty.

“He has failed to do this‚ and [says] there is nothing wrong with our SOEs or with policy direction. We can now see the consequences.

“South Africa is now one step closer to a sovereign downgrade‚ which will have disastrous implications.”

Pityana said the next step – a full sovereign downgrade – would precipitate a major economic downturn.