START YOUR DAY BETTER INFORMED – HERE’S THE LINK TO TODAY’S EPISODE OF THE BIZNEWS BREAKFAST BRIEFING: Markets hit hard; Rand above R17/$; Eskom; Mandatory vaccine madness; UK PM frontrunners
I like Gerhard Papenfus. He’s an old fashioned, no-nonsense, spade-bloody-shovel man, the type now so rare to find above the parapet of our increasingly woke world. Papenfus says what he means rather than what is politically acceptable. A Hollander in the Austrian court to borrow from diplomatic parlance.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___Given his responsibilities, he’s also got a lot on his plate. So, when after our invitation the CEO of the National Employer’s Association of SA immediately drove from Pretoria North to our Bryanston studio, it was obvious he has strong views on mandatory vaccinations.
Papenfus did not disappoint, as you’ll witness when watching the recording of the interview (click here or above). What surprised me, however, was his focus on Discovery. SA’s dominant health insurance provider, he claims, is the prime villain of the Covid piece. It took a position – and the rest of corporate South Africa followed, he claims. Some, like Telkom, belatedly.
If even half right, that tells us a lot about the Sandton-headquartered multinational’s influence. And the esteem with which SA’s C-Class holds its founder and CEO Adrian Gore. But Discovery’s halo is slipping. Last night Standard Bank folded to pressure and abandoned its ‘principled stance’ on mandating Covid vaccinations. Old Mutual did the same a few days ago.
Papenfus debated Discovery top brass and a highly paid lawyer from the ‘World’s #3 legal firm” and claims their arguments contained “nothing” – a word he repeated three times. He says it was based instead on blind loyalty to the US’s FDA and CDC. Which, he maintains, is very wrong. NEASA’s firebrand has a point. On critical matters that carry a massive impact on our economic health, SA needs to make up its own mind. Always.
More for you to read today:
- Four Key Market Metrics That Signal Investors Are Prepping for Recession. Reading the movements of securities like contracts, derivatives and securities can indicate how investors are positioning
- Eleven Potential Boris Johnson Successors Line Up to Court Conservatives in U.K. Prime Minister Race. Candidates pitch their platforms as lawmakers face task of choosing two finalists
- Donald Trump and the Midterms. Democrats want the former President front and center in the election, and he agrees
- PGA Tour Faces Antitrust Probe in LIV Golf Battle. The probe shows that the DOJ is watching the PGA Tour’s fight to retain players in the face of new competition from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit
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