WHAT IT MEANS: Gag order applies to government too. Business demands faster reforms.Watching the rapprochement between government and business is like watching the opposite sexes at a school dance. They regard each other warily from opposite sides of the dance floor until the first few get together in the middle and start to dance, badly, while the onlookers criticise them from the sidelines.Right now, the CEOs who’ve stepped into government’s awkward embrace — people like Old Mutual Emerging Markets CEO Ralph Mupita, Nedbank CEO Mike Brown, Discovery CEO Adrian Gore and Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala — are being criticised by those outside the circle for being "co-opted" by the state.In terms of the Presidential CEO Initiative, several business/government working groups were established in February to expedite reforms to boost the level of investment and confidence in the economy.The immediate imperative was to avoid a sovereign ratings downgrade by presenting a united front to t...
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