Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Sapoa line up quality team for 46th event
Sunter, ex-Soviet economics expert speaking
WITH speakers like Eusebius McKaiser, Dr Yuri Maltsev and Clem Sunter on the bill, the opening sessions of the 46th annual SA Property Owners’ Association (Sapoa) convention and property exhibition in Cape Town in June is set to kick off on a provocative note.
The opening sessions are expected to set the tone and stimulate the thoughts of the more than 1 000 local and foreign commercial and industrial property heavyweights attending the conference.
McKaiser is a Joburg-based broadcaster, columnist, political analyst, writer and lecturer. As master of ceremonies, he will no doubt facilitate panel discussions with provocative questions of his own in line with the conference theme, “Making a difference”.
Maltsev, a former economics adviser to then Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, will deliver a hard-hitting presentation titled “Lessons for SA from the Soviet Union on the Savagery of Socialism” in the opening session.
Top scenario strate gist Sunter will present a five-year view to 2020. He will then be joined by Maltsev in a panel discussion on prospective scenarios for the next five years.
McKaiser, who has an academic background in moral philosophy, believes business needs to have a moral compass.
“Moral philosophy allows us to think about business and ethics with the help of the tools of philosophy. For example, while property business owners need only comply with laws, moral philosophy rightly pushes responsible business owners t o ask t hemselves whether they have a moral duty as businesses beyond complying with laws.
“In a country like SA, with massive housing challenges, moral philosophy can guide this business ethics discussion. Business ethics in SA is hugely underdeveloped, sadly. At best, businesses see ‘business ethics’ as referring to ‘professional business ethics codes’ such as codes of conduct for doctors and lawyers.
“There is a refusal to discuss more fundamental ethical questions with a moral edge, such as how big business can and should contribute to the reduction in inequality in SA.”
Maltsev, now an economics professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin, believes the world can learn important lessons from the demise of the old Soviet empire. He is a noted student of the former Soviet economy, with a Master’s degree from Moscow State University and a PhD in labour economics from the Moscowbased Institute of Labour Research.
“The lessons we can learn from the tragic experiences of nations enslaved in the Soviet empire provide us with a better perspective on… dangers of our own big and out-of-control governments pursuing socialist schemes,” he says.
“Soviet Russia was the first country to completely abolish property rights, which were declared ‘ a sanctification of capitalist oppression and exploitation’. When the massive expropriation was completed, the property market was destroyed and so were real estate assets.
“The most f undamental institution of the market economy is a regime of private property rights. This is generally the defining difference between wealthy, stable, prosperous societies and poor, decimated nations. The system of private property is the most important guarantee of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not.
“Government housing all over the world (US included) looks grey, grim and dilapidated. I t i s a n i mportant reminder that the right to own property is the most important human right – ‘a mother of all rights’ – according to a great American, James Madison,” says Maltsev.
McKaiser, Maltsev and Sunter will be joined by a host of other noted property and corporate sector leaders speaking at the convention.
Sponsored by Liberty Properties, the Sapoa convention will take place at the Cape Town International Conference Centre from June 10 to 12. For more information and a full programme, visit www.sapoa convention.co.za.