TEAM SA
CLAIRE BISSEKER: Up to Cyril Ramaphosa to revive can-do spirit
In January 2016, then finance minister Pravin Gordhan took a group of CEOs with him to Davos to present a united front to the international investment community. Under the united banner of Team SA, the country was selling the message then — just as it is now — that it had got its act together and would do whatever it took to avert an economic crisis and further credit rating downgrades. As Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and local business leaders mingle with financial royalty in Davos this week, they are picking up where Gordhan left off. That parlour act worked better than anyone could have imagined. SA managed to stave off further downgrades during 2016 despite the absence of any real economic reform. It wasn’t until President Jacob Zuma fired Gordhan in April 2017 that the country’s ratings were junked. After Zuma’s betrayal, the social compact that Gordhan had begun to build with business and labour unravelled and the projects that were an expression of that partnership — nota...
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