After spending a few days in the Drakensberg at the fourth BizNews conference, UK-based fund manager Sean Peche gives his impressions of progress in the country, with an upbeat interpretation of developments and projections for the future. Read his views below.
The grass certainly isn’t greener in the UK right now
By Sean Peche*
“How do you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time” is the African answer to deconstructing a large problem into smaller ones.
I’ve just returned from the fantastic BizNews conference in the Drakensberg where I enjoyed the privilege of mixing with inspiring journalists, politicians, fund managers & entrepreneurs, all “eating” their bit of South Africa’s problems.
Arriving back to a slightly darker UK, all I could think was, “Give me Athol Trollip or Chris Pappas over Liz Truss every single minute of the week!”
She’s so uninspiring that her only idea is “lower taxes” – uMngeni, count yourself lucky!
As 160k Conservative Party members decide my future PM in this apparent democracy…
Alongside the news that Russia has suspended gas shipments to Europe meaning “load shedding” is coming to the UK – electricity prices are already up five-fold in a year.
Yes, fivefold..
So if you think the grass is greener over here, take a look at recent aerial shots of Hyde Park (the UK one).
But I think that “if” South Africa solves violent crime & corruption, then people will flood back & investment will pour in. And aren’t those “bite-sized” problems?
I heard from a cement industry insider that there’s no longer any corruption in the Western Cape. And a fellow passenger who works extensively in Tanzania told me there’s minimal violent crime in that African country. Can’t we learn from those places?
Can’t we crush the 2% of bad guys who’re making life difficult for the 98% of good SAffas? With people like Chris & Athol running the show, you bet we can!Â
Meaning that’s a, “when”; not an “if”? Can’t we have a corruption tip-off service where the whistle-blower gets 10% of the amount recovered and we use 90% to build prisons for the 2%?
We’ve got the cement capacity, don’t we just need imagination? Because South Africa has that in spades.
The Adrian Gardiner kind, that turned overgrazed, Eastern Cape farmland into a five-star, malaria-free Shamwari Game Reserve.
The Mark Shuttleworth kind.
The Charles Savage kind.
At the conference, Athol told the story of how he re-entered politics.
“I’ve had enough” he said to Herman Mashaba when invited to join ActionSA. “But have you DONE enough?” replied Herman.
Well, I know I haven’t done enough but our Ranmore Pledge will help solve that
The dynamic, Rob Hersov asked me for a list of SAffas living abroad who could write out “bite-sized” $5000 cheques to rally the population & drive real political change in South Africa. I gave him 120 names but hope that when the time comes, they give the greater of $5000 or 1% of their net worth.
Is 1% really too much to ask to help the country that gave us our opportunity & where so many of our friends & family still live?
Our downside is giving away 1%. Can we even measure the upside?
Trust me, trades don’t come better than that!
A good friend once said to me, “the grass is greenest where you water it.”
Well, I think it’s time that we SAffas all “watered” South Africa
- Sean Peche is the founder of UK-based Ranmore Funds.
Read also:
- There are several shades between leaving or staying in South Africa
- Why do some expat Saffers return to SA? Here’s one story.
- South Africa may just survive the ANC
