Stephen Koseff: 'South Africa would roar - if we had stability'
Investec CEO lauds ties between business and the government — but pleads for policy certainty
Investec boss Stephen Koseff says the relationship between the government and business is closer than ever, but admits that business is as much in the dark about the future of Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan as anyone. "We don't know what's going on," says Koseff, who is part of the CEO Initiative that has been working with the National Treasury to save South Africa from being downgraded to junk. They have been reporting back to President Jacob Zuma every quarter, he says, and waxes lyrical about the "open nature" of their relationship with government. He told a workshop at the Gordon Institute of Business Science last week that it had never been closer, in his experience. That goes back to 1986 when Koseff, now 65, became CEO of Investec. But he admits that perhaps the single most important issue facing the country - Gordhan's job security - is something business leaders dare not discuss with the government, let alone Zuma. "We don't talk about that," says Koseff. "Because we're...
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