Prof Patrick Bond from the University of the Witswatersrand (Wits) tells Business Day TV why the World Economic Forum, which held its annual Africa meeting last week, serves the interests of the ruling elite at the expense of communities.
BUSINESS DAY: You couldn’t turn on a TV, flip open a newspaper or browse social media last week without someone mentioning the World Economic Forum (WEF), which took place in Durban. But activists say that the meetings only cater to the interests of the ruling elite and communities are left out in the cold. Joining us to discuss this further is Wits professor Patrick Bond. Patrick … you were in Durban last week. I don’t know if you’re inside the Forum or outside the Forum but it certainly does draw attention, and it draws the attention of civil society, even if they’re not included in those conversations? PATRICK BOND: And yet they were in a sense a co-chair. One of five was Winnie Byanyima, who is the head of Oxfam International. And I mean I did go in, it was very interesting to have a debate. Does the entry of both the progressive, redistributive, democratic and anticorruption voice actually give legitimacy to a group that I think bent over too far to help Jacob Zuma and Malusi G...
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