There was hardly anything the late former president Nelson Mandela could have done to change the status of SA’s economy to favour the black majority during the transition from apartheid‚ says former British MP Lord Peter Hain. He was speaking at a panel discussion‚ titled SA: Hero to Zero‚ held in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The talk focused on the role of business amid SA’s political climate. "It seems to me that with cronyism replacing merit‚ the state — including the parastatals — is becoming increasingly dysfunctional‚ which is lethal for economic prosperity. Some are arguing that the problem is rooted in the way the country was transformed — and they have a case‚" said Hain. "Under apartheid‚ government and big business were run exclusively by the white minority. When white rule finally came to an end‚ the fear was that white businesses and investors would flee. Instead, a deal was struck‚ and compromises were made for the sake of a peaceful and economically stable transition. "Th...
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