Does it matter whether the cat is black or white – Eskom and race

Deng Xiaoping famously said “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.” I know, it is highly unusual to quote a Chinese leader known for his views on Communism and state interference in the economy in a business publication. But perhaps in this case; it is apt to borrow the language of a Chinese ruler as many of the trade unions and the South African Communist Party still believe in the policies of Mao and Xiaoping which they are stubbornly sticking to. Like the Chinese eventually had to chuck its economic policies out of the windows to embrace a policy of socialist transformation as they call it or basically a market economy; it is a good time to remind factions within the ANC alliance of Xiaoping’s words. Sticking rigidly to a transformation agenda is not going to dig South Africa out of the hole it finds itself in now. As Sara Gon points out in this article from the Daily Friend; it is not as if the job of Eskom CEO was not offered to many other black executives before Andre de Ruyter was chosen. Gon suggests there may have been a shift in ANC thinking on transformation. – Linda van Tilburg

Has the ANC finally seen the light on key job appointments?

By Sara Gon*

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