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Cape Town – The business sector in South Africa must learn the lesson that they should not play a role in the ANC, but rather in civil society, according to political analyst Justice Malala.
“Cyril Ramaphosa, for instance, might be the darling of business today, but Cyril too might do things that displease business in future,” Malala said at a seminar by the Cruywagen-IRMSA risk Foundation.
“Business should rather get involved in national politics and stay clear of internal battles in political parties. Walk away from party politics and speak up more about things like education, entrepreneurship and economic growth, for instance.”
In his view, it will take a long time to “clean up” the country and he foresees that there will still be court cases and a backlash in this regard in 10 years’ time.
“I think some people will use populist ways to play the victim in this process,” said Malala. “For instance, when we speak of ‘white man’s courts’, we forget that these are our courts. I don’t think SA has dipped so far that it cannot be turned around. I still see the glass half full.”
He said that by the time former finance minister Pravin Gordhan was removed, the business sector had already started working together in various ways.
“Entrepreneurship is a powerful tool and these business initiatives need to continue whether Zuma is here or not, or whether Cyril is here or not,” said Malala.
“The days of ‘you must apologise’ are over, but let us all work together.”
Malala further predicts a further split in the ANC after December.
He thinks China’s influence in Africa is going to be major, with positive and negative effects for SA. He pointed out that Botswana is already taking a strong stance regarding the terms of Chinese contracts.
The role of the Financial Intelligence Centre is also very important for Malala.
Lastly, he gave his view on land reform.
“We need to look at food security. It is not just about land distribution. We need to return to rationality instead of the current emotional approach.”
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