ANN CROTTY: There is progress, and there is hope
Never mind foreign investors — SA’s energetic, enterprising small businesses are a more important reason to keep up the good fight
An accountant friend is worried the KPMG crisis, coming in the wake of the Bell Pottinger controversy and in the midst of the Zupta scandal, will further damage SA’s reputation and enhance the perception that corruption is endemic. She fears this will frighten away foreign investors. Having worked for one of those foreign investors for several years (at Independent Media) it’s difficult not to feel that frightening them away would not be an unmitigated disaster. The reality, of course, is that foreign investors are not overly discouraged by corruption; they’re much more concerned about uncertainty. Those investors who take it seriously will be encouraged by recent developments. SA is one of the few countries that has fought against the corruption that seems to be an inevitable part of a post-independence regime. For decades Bell Pottinger has been peddling its version of brand management, and despite vilification nothing seemed to interfere with its strong and profitable growth traj...
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