South Africa’s WEF 2024 game plan

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JIMMY MOYAHA: From one patriotic South African to another one. This time the [one] South African is sitting in Davos at the World Economic Forum. I’m of course referring to [former ] president of Business Unity South Africa [Busa], Bonang Mohale, who is going to give us a sense of what’s happening at the WEF and how this is unfolding.

Good evening, Professor Mohale. Thanks for taking the time. I know it is quite a busy agenda and quite a busy schedule that you have this week; thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Let’s get straight into it.

How were day one and two of the forum? What’s the mood like? What is the sentiment like? We know that there’s been a big focus on rebuilding trust. Has that been the sense that you’ve been getting from what’s happening on the ground?

BONANG MOHALE: I’m wearing the hat of the chairman of Bidvest Group Limited, and am the immediate past president of Busa.

Day one went well. Day two – we are still in the throes of it, so excuse my being out of breath. I’ve just snuck out of a session that started at five o’clock.

So for me, the day before the start of the World Economic Forum, it was interesting that the Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced the commencement of talks here in Davos on a 10-point peace plan that has been promoting an end to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

This January 15-19 week we are seeing over 2 800 leaders, 60 heads of state, 40 foreign ministers, more than 350 general government central bank governors and public servants, alongside 1 600 business leaders, academics, civil society, and youth from 120 countries, all convening for the 54th Annual World Economic Forum meeting here in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos Klosters in Switzerland.

I think you’re absolutely correct about the theme of rebuilding trust. But this meeting takes place against the most complicated geopolitical and geo-economic backdrop of the last few decades with, as your last speaker just said, elections taking place in over 50 countries just this year – including the USA, India, and 15 African countries including our very own South Africa. This represents a quarter of the eight billion global population.

So understandably there’s a lot hanging on the World Economic Forum’s stated mission of improving the state of the world.

These global challenges for me underscore the necessity of international collaboration in tackling, among other things, humanitarian, climate, social and economic challenges encapsulated by this year’s theme.

In particular, the four tracks – ‘Achieving security and cooperation in a fractured world’. The second is ‘Creating growth and jobs for a new era’. The third is ‘Artificial intelligence as a driving force for the economy and society’. The last one is ‘A long-term strategy for climate, nature, and energy’, my dear brother.

JIMMY MOYAHA: Mr Mohale, it sounds like you have your hands full with all of the conversations that are being discussed.

I wonder, with all of the geopolitical conversations that are being had – the difficult conversations around the wars, around the need for peace, around the collaboration, because we want to establish trust globally; we want to have trust rebuilt – unless we end the conflicts it’s going to be very difficult for us to move forward.

Are you getting a sense that the players that are present are all on the same page around wanting to see all of these conflicts come to an end?

BONANG MOHALE: So with just 40% of the meeting gone, this year’s meeting I think is 10% more than [in] the same period last year. You are absolutely correct.

So with the world still reeling from the pandemic and the economic wars of the past three years, and now confronted with these raging and unfolding wars in many parts of the world, these global leaders are seeking long-lasting solutions to – among other things – the rise of global trade tensions, technology wars, growing inequality; and disinformation is a big thing.

Extreme weather events and climate change are major threats, but also escalating geopolitical tensions [and] evolving economic policies.

How do we in the short term build sustainability so that we can achieve this notion of long-term resilience – [against] issues of protectionism, nationalist policies, the rise of populism, and rapid technological advancements.

So for me this meeting is addressing the most critical issues for today and for the future. To address these global challenges I think the World Economic Forum of necessity has had to forge partnerships with numerous international organisations and companies, focusing this year on projects – not just ‘talk shops’ – related to creating resilience for future generations, re-imaging globalisation, rewiring artificial intelligence.

I think 30/35% of our conversation the whole week is going to be taken up by AI, guiding the green transition and addressing power gaps, as well as economic inclusivity.

Some of the partners that have been brought on board are change makers from the forums, communities of global shapers, but also young global leaders.

Of course, the Schwab Foundation for Entrepreneurship is here, and all of them are key experts and civil society leaders that are coming together, coalescing and contributing to building new ideas and partnerships to improve outcomes for people, for economies, but most importantly for the planet, because it’s not so much that we have inherited this wealth from our forebears as we have borrowed it from our children. Therefore, it behoves us to live it in a state that is substantially better than we found it in. Back to you, my brother.

JIMMY MOYAHA: Prof Mohale, before I let you go, how do we then position businesses in South Africa? How do we position South Africa as a country to make the most of this? We’ve seen a lot of conversations. The topics mentioned are around creating jobs, around climate change. But if we look at the unemployment statistics in South Africa, those are something we’d have to get into in a whole other conversation.

But what do businesses and other stakeholders that are not in Davos do so that we can ensure that South Africa is repositioned to be the leader on the continent that we are known to be?

BONANG MOHALE: Again, you are absolutely spot on.

This is probably the most difficult year in which to sell South Africa. This is my 21st World Economic Forum in Davos, and it has never been as dark for the world.

Now, if you have to translate back home to South Africa, I think we are on fire, all of our problems being self-inflicted.

We have the energy crisis – we call it load shedding – and the water crisis; but also the lack of law and order, safety and security.

How in that environment do you say ‘we are open for business’ and still be believable?

So we thought let’s show up with the help of among others Brand SA with some key CEOs who have said ‘We are going to invest the time, energy, and effort’ because in leadership it’s not so much that you have dropped the ball, it’s the speed with which you pick up these dropped balls.

There was a time when [on] Africa Day [at the gathering] – and we are going back tonight, at about 8pm Switzerland time – there used to be standing room only.

And then around 15 years into this we started losing our shine and relevance. Now we are rebuilding. I think there’s a lot of interest.

If you haven’t confirmed your attendance tonight you are unlikely to get in. Our message is really going to be simple. We used to be the Gateway to Africa with its 1.3 billion people, 55 African countries – 54 of which are absolutely sovereign – that speak 3 000 languages, with a continental GDP of $3.4 trillion. The biggest [African] economy used to be us. Now it’s Nigeria at $488 billion, followed by Egypt at about $350 billion, and then South Africa, let’s say, at about $430 billion.

But this South African economy should have been 20% bigger if we hadn’t spent the last 16 years without electricity.

Because power, energy in general is the fourth means of production after land being the primary means of production.

Lastly – the investors that we are hoping to convince, but also the rating agencies that we want to reverse our sub-investment status, called ‘junk status’.

They’re only looking for four things: fiscal, economic and institutional strength, as well as susceptibility to major risk events. I think a lot of us are not paying enough attention to how we can practically have a full appreciation of what it means to not be susceptible to major risk events.

The floods in KwaZulu-Natal, the fires that you see, the droughts that we saw leading to Day Zero in the Western Cape, for instance, all of those could have been [avoided] had we just done the simple thing of investing in planned and preventive maintenance and service delivery.

So as we prepare to go to our elections, probably around May when the president promulgates the date of the election, I think as business we need to stop just investing in those political parties commensurate to their representation.

We need to be saying, can we invest in those parties that commit to no more than five things – number one being transformation; this economy must look like us.

Number two is ethical leadership. Number three, good governance, but also number four just service delivery. Do what you are paid to do.

And then lastly, law and order, safety and security, so that the women of Africa, little girls, my two daughters, can feel safe at midnight to walk to an ATM machine with a Maltese poodle, withdraw money and, make it safely walking home – not even driving home.

At the moment it is a mirage, a pipe dream, my brother.

JIMMY MOYAHA: A pipe dream that government certainly needs to address, businesses doing their part.

I’ll have to leave it at that. Thanks to Professor Bonang Mohale, who wears many, many hats – the [former] president of the Business Unity South Africa organisation, but also the chairman of the Bidvest Group, an author, and in many, many other professions day to day.

Thanks so much, sir. That was an update from the World Economic Forum on what South Africa needs to do to claim back its top spot.