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Johannesburg - Sanlam joins South Africa and the world in mourning the passing of the South African and international icon, former president Nelson Mandela.
Expressing his company’s condolences, Sanlam group chief executive Dr Johan van Zyl said: “As a South African corporate citizen, we recognise Madiba's significant role in transitioning South Africa to a peaceful democracy that facilitated, among other things, an enabling environment for South African businesses like ours to expand and thrive beyond South Africa, which we have and continue to take full advantage of.
“As we prepare to celebrate 20 years of democracy in 2014, we should reflect on how we can keep Madiba’s legacy alive for future generations.
“Leaders of the calibre of Mr Mandela are rare and we are privileged to have had him in our lifetime. As a business, Sanlam experienced first-hand the impact of his leadership and humility. Apart from the fact that Sanlam was born the same year, in 1918, as Mr Mandela, he inspired us, like he did many other businesses and individuals,” Dr Van Zyl said.
Ability to forgive
“Sanlam was among the first to respond to his calls for nation building with our ground-breaking BEE transaction involving the sale of Metropolitan to New Africa Investments Limited (NAIL) in 1993. Ten years later we concluded another seminal BEE transaction with Ubuntu-Botho.”
Dr Van Zyl went on to say: “Perhaps one of the most admirable aspects of Mr Mandela’s model leadership was his ability to forgive.
“It is an incredible mind-set to which I believe we can largely attribute the peaceful transition to democracy that South Africa had. Without the burden of retribution, Mr Mandela could instil in the rest of us, especially at the time, the value of reconciliation.
“Mr Mandela’s leadership impacted not only the socio-political aspects of our transition, but it also gave direction to the South African economy, ensured our integration and participation in international economic affairs and secured a base from which we could grow our economy post 1994.
“As a result, businesses like Sanlam have expanded and now thrive beyond the South African borders. Today we have a footprint spanning five continents – Africa, Europe, Asia, including South East Asia, Australia and North America.
“There is no doubt that Mr Mandela provided a moral compass for the nation even after his retirement and will continue to do so after his passing.”
Broader economy
Dr Van Zyl said Madiba “left us a legacy of leadership lessons that will sustain us for generations to come if we apply them in our individual lives, families, communities and as a nation when interacting with others or going about our daily lives or indeed in our businesses and in government.
“As a business leader, I have taken my own lessons from him and I believe it is possible to apply these in all aspects of life.
“As we enter this post Mandela era, I hope we can live up to his expectations of us as a nation and as individuals.
The group chief executive said: “I do not believe that his passing will have any particular impact on the markets and the broader economy because I do not think he would have directly influenced South Africa’s economic decisions or the financial markets in the latter years.
“However, I believe the lessons from his leadership are important for business to continue playing a key role in the on-going efforts to build South Africa, which it does by promoting economic growth. This starts with forging a healthy relationship between business and government.
"Much has been made recently of the lack of trust between the two parties."
Positive results
Dr Van Zyl said the fundamental point of contention remained the respective roles to be played by the state and the private sector in the economy, as acknowledged in the NDP.
“One side of the ideological divide in the government supports the idea that enlarging the role of the state in the economy will put the economy on a new, higher growth path, while the other side recognises the private sector as the engine of growth.
“It is therefore imperative to acknowledge the key role of business in promoting economic growth. This starts with a healthy relationship between business and government.
“Trust means that each side will have confidence in the other to effectively execute its inherent functions and not that one will prescribe to the other what it must do. A pragmatic approach will probably be the best, with the state focusing on what it does best and the private sector likewise concentrating on its role as business.
“If we were to follow Mr Mandela’s example of putting forward strong and compelling arguments to persuade rather than impose on one another, we would yield positive results and rebuild that trust. Mr Mandela would expect no less of us, “ Dr Van Zyl concluded.
*Share your memories of Nelson Mandela with Fin24 users.
Expressing his company’s condolences, Sanlam group chief executive Dr Johan van Zyl said: “As a South African corporate citizen, we recognise Madiba's significant role in transitioning South Africa to a peaceful democracy that facilitated, among other things, an enabling environment for South African businesses like ours to expand and thrive beyond South Africa, which we have and continue to take full advantage of.
“As we prepare to celebrate 20 years of democracy in 2014, we should reflect on how we can keep Madiba’s legacy alive for future generations.
“Leaders of the calibre of Mr Mandela are rare and we are privileged to have had him in our lifetime. As a business, Sanlam experienced first-hand the impact of his leadership and humility. Apart from the fact that Sanlam was born the same year, in 1918, as Mr Mandela, he inspired us, like he did many other businesses and individuals,” Dr Van Zyl said.
Ability to forgive
“Sanlam was among the first to respond to his calls for nation building with our ground-breaking BEE transaction involving the sale of Metropolitan to New Africa Investments Limited (NAIL) in 1993. Ten years later we concluded another seminal BEE transaction with Ubuntu-Botho.”
Dr Van Zyl went on to say: “Perhaps one of the most admirable aspects of Mr Mandela’s model leadership was his ability to forgive.
“It is an incredible mind-set to which I believe we can largely attribute the peaceful transition to democracy that South Africa had. Without the burden of retribution, Mr Mandela could instil in the rest of us, especially at the time, the value of reconciliation.
“Mr Mandela’s leadership impacted not only the socio-political aspects of our transition, but it also gave direction to the South African economy, ensured our integration and participation in international economic affairs and secured a base from which we could grow our economy post 1994.
“As a result, businesses like Sanlam have expanded and now thrive beyond the South African borders. Today we have a footprint spanning five continents – Africa, Europe, Asia, including South East Asia, Australia and North America.
“There is no doubt that Mr Mandela provided a moral compass for the nation even after his retirement and will continue to do so after his passing.”
Broader economy
Dr Van Zyl said Madiba “left us a legacy of leadership lessons that will sustain us for generations to come if we apply them in our individual lives, families, communities and as a nation when interacting with others or going about our daily lives or indeed in our businesses and in government.
“As a business leader, I have taken my own lessons from him and I believe it is possible to apply these in all aspects of life.
“As we enter this post Mandela era, I hope we can live up to his expectations of us as a nation and as individuals.
The group chief executive said: “I do not believe that his passing will have any particular impact on the markets and the broader economy because I do not think he would have directly influenced South Africa’s economic decisions or the financial markets in the latter years.
“However, I believe the lessons from his leadership are important for business to continue playing a key role in the on-going efforts to build South Africa, which it does by promoting economic growth. This starts with forging a healthy relationship between business and government.
"Much has been made recently of the lack of trust between the two parties."
Positive results
Dr Van Zyl said the fundamental point of contention remained the respective roles to be played by the state and the private sector in the economy, as acknowledged in the NDP.
“One side of the ideological divide in the government supports the idea that enlarging the role of the state in the economy will put the economy on a new, higher growth path, while the other side recognises the private sector as the engine of growth.
“It is therefore imperative to acknowledge the key role of business in promoting economic growth. This starts with a healthy relationship between business and government.
“Trust means that each side will have confidence in the other to effectively execute its inherent functions and not that one will prescribe to the other what it must do. A pragmatic approach will probably be the best, with the state focusing on what it does best and the private sector likewise concentrating on its role as business.
“If we were to follow Mr Mandela’s example of putting forward strong and compelling arguments to persuade rather than impose on one another, we would yield positive results and rebuild that trust. Mr Mandela would expect no less of us, “ Dr Van Zyl concluded.
*Share your memories of Nelson Mandela with Fin24 users.
