Business leaders appear ready to take a firm stance on government, saying on Thursday that new rules of engagement were needed following the breach of trust brought on by the cabinet reshuffle. "We can’t pretend that nothing has happened. There needs to be a recognition from government that they have broken trust and confidence, and they need to show us how they intend rebuilding that," said Cas Coovadia, MD of Banking Association SA. President Jacob Zuma’s decision to reshuffle the Cabinet in March and remove Pravin Gordhan as finance minister and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas, damaged the relationship between business and the government, particularly in the light of the CEO Initiative. Introduced by Zuma, the CEO Initiative, which dozens of CEOs from SA’s largest companies joined, was established to avoid a sovereign credit rating downgrade and boost economic growth. Following the reshuffle, Fitch and S&P Global Ratings downgraded the country immediately, saying the reshuffle had heigh...
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