Leadership is the issue

The ANC administration’s leadership failure is reflected in its inability to challenge selfinterested parties like union federation Cosatu, the Black Business Council and the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) on issues that are sinking SA.

It took finance minister Enoch Gondongwana less than a day to fold to the Black Business Council’s rejection of performance-based and meritocratic (rather than racist) procurement rules for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In an instant, he extinguished the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for SOEs. This mirrors the ANC’s failure to fix education over nearly three decades, kowtowing to Sadtu and destroying any hopes of our youth.

Then again, business executives similarly fail to show leadership in the face of adversity. The Dis-Chem saga confirmed that senior business managers (they are certainly not “leaders”) are unwilling to speak out against the ANC’s proposed draconian fines for hiring staff purely on the basis of job suitability.

These race-based policies are an existential threat to businesses operating in a global market for capital, products and talent. The persistent willingness of business and the ANC to bow to racial nationalism and squander our country’s potential remains unforgivable.

Rolf Endres

Craighall Park