Rob “what crisis” Davies brushing off concerns about SA corporate divestment
By Alec Hogg
It was all Oscar Pistorius yesterday. Even my autocue operator made an uncharacteristic slip, distracted by the OP channel in the control room. Biznews.com's top stories listed as always at the bottom of this mail, reflect that reality. Fortunately, all of my CNBC Africa interviews are recorded. Then transcribed and published on the site along with a context. Were this not so you may not believe what follows.
Our star guest yesterday was Trade & Industry Minister Rob Davies. The guy who should be the most concerned member of cabinet, given the corporate exodus of near 1980-divestment proportions. Either he's a great poker player or Davies is being poorly informed. He brushed off my suggestion he might be concerned at the growing list of SA corporates who are looking for growth outside this country's borders. Because, he says, foreign companies are lining up to take their place.
Davies barely missed a beat when responding to BHP Billiton and Anglogold spinning off their the SA assets into separate, non-contaminating units. That was reflective of the transforming mining sector, Davies said, an area where the Zuma Administration admits a "challenge" exists.
What about the country's pathetic performance in the WEF's 2014 Global Competitiveness Report? Again, a case of what me worry: "That's one way of assessing competitiveness, there are a number of others." Watch the video or read the transcript. It's sobering.
Yesterday's top stories: