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Magda Wierzycka to South Africa: Don't despair, but stay vigilant

Cape Town – If the “right thing” happens in December at the ANC’s elective conference, South Africa could recover from its economic quagmire within 12 to 18 months.

This is the view of Magda Wierzycka, CEO and founder of fintech company Sygnia.

In an interview with Fin24 earlier this week, Wierzycka had a message of hope for South Africans:

“Right now, all roads lead to December. The future rests in the hands of roughly 4 000 citizens of this country. One needs to believe they all have families; they all come from communities. And that they are all capable of doing the right thing for the country – not just for short-term R10 000 in their back pockets. I believe there are a lot of really good people in the ANC who are trying to do the right thing.”

The ruling party holds its national conference from December 16 to 20 where a new party president will be elected. At this stage, the leadership race seems to be between Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former chairperson of the African Union (AU) commission and erstwhile minister of home affairs.

ANC national treasurer Zeli Mkhize may, however, emerge as a compromise candidate. 

Wierzycka said she is optimistic that South Africa can still recover economically within the next 12 to 18 months, provided there is positive change at the December conference.

WATCH: Magda Wierzycka's message of hope 

“Until we know the outcome of December, there’s no reason to despair. But there’s every reason though to stay vigilant; to stay aware. It’s absolutely amazes me how complacent people are. This is no time for complacency. Remain engaged,” she said.

She encouraged the South African citizenry to read what is in the media.

“Read the Gupta leaks e-mails - at least some of them just so that you educate yourselves about what is happening and what it has meant economically for this country.

“Our taxes are going up in February as a consequence of what’s happening in South Africa. The economy has flatlined. Unemployment has sky-rocketed. But we can fix all that – given the right leadership and people in charge. Within a short period of time we can fix it.” 

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