The determined CFO
with a caring demeanour

Ntombi Mothibeli, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Medshield Medical Scheme, loves life in her position, ensuring that the Scheme’s members receive their benefits

Being a medical scheme’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is not for the faint-hearted. As the person responsible for managing the Scheme’s finances, it is crucial to control the funds, as timely pay-outs are paramount, and any delays can have adverse effects. In addition, you also have to consider the wellbeing of all the Scheme’s members. Taking on that responsibility takes a remarkable person.

Ntombi Mothibeli qualified as a Chartered Accountant (SA) in 2007 after completing her training with Ernst & Young. She then joined Alexander Forbes and held various positions at organisations in the financial services sector, e.g. pension funds, short-term and long-term insurance, investments, financial research and the medical aid/healthcare sector. She has held the strategic position of CFO since 2014 for various organisations.

Currently the CFO of Medshield Medical Scheme, Ntombi’s key responsibilities include managing the Scheme’s finances within the prescribed Scheme policies, procedures and governance, and compliance and regulations. ”As part of my role, I am responsible for completing the annual budget, monitoring monthly actual spend, and ensuring that the Scheme’s financial and non-financial activities are audited annually. With 16 years of wealth knowledge and experience in financial services, including over 10 years in senior management and executive positions, I am particularly well-suited to this role,” she reveals.

In terms of what makes Medshield Medical Scheme the entity it is today, Ntombi believes that a critical factor in this regard is their ability to ensure that all stakeholders are treated with respect and provided with the high-quality care they deserve. To consistently deliver on this promise, Medshield implemented a cash flow model to understand the cash cycle of the Scheme. Based on the model, they know their short-term cash commitments and ensure they have the requisite cash on hand to meet obligations as they fall due.

”Various factors drive the Scheme, but managing the funding of members’ healthcare and ensuring they have continuous access to care is our top priority. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, the Scheme managed to weather the storm and maintain a good solvency ratio, which is well above the statutory requirements,” she explains.

While it is evident that Ntombi has a lot of responsibilities, she is a leader and needs to ensure everything runs smoothly, regardless of the obstacles she encounters.

Leading by Example

As a leader, Ntombi describes herself as someone who leads by example and is not afraid to knuckle down when the pressure mounts. Essentially, she is someone you want in your corner.

”I lead by example, and outcomes and deliverables take priority. I am hands-on and willing to go all in when the Scheme requires it. I believe it is important to know when the time is right to step away and allow each individual in my team to grow and showcase their ability. However, if a deadline is missed, then I am willing to delve into the details of the problem and identify and solve the root cause of the issue,” she explains.

As previously mentioned, this position comes with its challenges, one of which is a high-stress level. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives.’

Every executive has different methods and solutions when dealing with stress, but for Ntombi, her family keeps her going. ”My kids are my best escape from work stress. I have four kids between the ages of 10 and 19, and there is never a dull moment in my house and life,” she avers smilingly.

Challenges and difficult situations remain the most significant contributing factors to stress in the workplace, and there is no easy solution to overcoming workplace issues; each individual has to handle them in their way. For Ntombi, analysing the situation while applying the rules and regulations is crucial. ”I address challenging situations by first understanding the context, then evaluating the impact, consequence or magnitude, before researching the solution, then ultimately making a decision”, Ntombi explains.

”Implementing IFRS17 (International Financial Reporting Standard 17) at Medshield was challenging, albeit rewarding. Through thorough consultation with the Principal Officer and my Executive colleagues, we enhanced our understanding of the IFRS17, their combined responsibilities in terms of the decision-making process and the implications on the business.”

With Medshield well into its sixth decade of existence, the Scheme’s footprint continues to grow while ensuring it continually improves the lives of all employees and members. In 2024, Medshield’s strategy is to utilise their reserves to minimise their contribution increases so that it remains affordable to their current and potential members whilst guarding the financial sustainability of the Scheme.

There is much to be excited about in the future, and Ntombi is particularly excited about continuing her journey with the Scheme.

”What excites me the most about Medshield is that members are not just policyholders. The Scheme strives to provide exceptional service and care to its members whenever they may need it. As the sixth largest open medical aid scheme in South Africa, we are growing by the day. I am excited to be part of the Medshield Medical Scheme journey, and I am eager to contribute to elevating the Scheme to new heights,” she concludes.

And we look forward to seeing where that journey takes you.

The three promises of Medshield Medical Scheme

Trustworthiness

Medshield has been in operation since 1968, making the Scheme one of the most experienced, most knowledgeable, and most reliable medical schemes in South Africa.

Superior quality at a great price

Each of Medshield Medical Scheme's options offers affordably priced benefits. The Scheme continuously reviews and improves the range of benefits, in each benefit option or plan, to bring members what they really need–quality healthcare at affordable prices and a range of plans that suit specific, individual needs.

Members' claims are paid timeously

Medshield Medical Scheme received, for the 16th consecutive year, the acclaimed AA- with a positive outlook Global Credit Rating for their ability to pay out members' claims.

What Medshield Medical Scheme stands for

Mission

Partner with stakeholders to enable access to sustainable and affordable quality healthcare through innovative products and benefits.

Vision

Partnering with members towards their personal healthcare and wellbeing.

Values

• Mutual respect

• Accountability

• Integrity

• Customer satisfaction

• Innovation

• Transparency

 Healthy boundaries impact your leadership style

Setting healthy boundaries is not only beneficial to the entrepreneur or executive, but also to the organisations they lead and the society they operate in, writes Ndumi Hadebe

It’s common business knowledge that leading is one of four components of the management process—planning, organising, leading, and controlling. Whilst all components are equally important, an executive or entrepreneur’s capacity to lead effectively depends highly on their level of self-awareness and ability to mobilise themselves and those they lead in the direction of a desired goal.

An individual’s boundaries are an important piece of the puzzle and a by-product of self-awareness.

Contrary to popular belief, personal boundaries are not about building walls around you that make one inaccessible. Boundaries are about you, as an executive or entrepreneur, being crystal clear about how you preserve and manage the continuous demand on your key resources—time, money, and energy (T.M.E.). The primary reason for strategically managing your T.M.E is so that subsequently you have more of these resources for yourself, which can be traded in exchange for a specific return and/or be donated/given to others to empower themselves.

Boundaries are based on the awareness of one’s personal truth, which is informed by their needs, wants, thoughts, and feelings, making them unique to each individual.

Leaders are expected to be excellent in competencies that are associated with good leadership such as being authentic, effective in communication, decision-making, be results oriented, have integrity, and a perfect balance of leading whilst being led—all of which speak to an above average level of emotional intelligence.

Before we arrive at how a lack of boundaries impacts one’s capacity to lead, let’s first look at the process in which a person has to follow to set their personal boundaries.

The most efficient way to put this into practice is by identifying boundaries per sector or area of life—i.e., physical health, career/vocation, finances, social, emotional, spiritual, family, and relationships.

Lack of boundaries negatively impacts one’s leadership in the following ways:

Self-Leadership and Results

Typically, the discussion of boundaries focusses on boundaries with other people. Yet more important is having boundaries with the self. This speaks to one’s capacity to exercise discipline and commitment to what they’ve identified as priorities. Leaders that lack boundaries with themselves find it challenging to lead themselves, which in turn compromises their ability to achieve desired results for themselves and the teams they lead.

Authenticity and Communication

The second step of the process of setting healthy boundaries is owning one’s boundaries—i.e., releasing all judgment attached to boundaries being different to those of other people. This step is important because fully owning one’s boundaries determines their ability to express their personal truth—whether it’s for the purpose communicating boundaries or company policy and strategy with confidence and conviction. This is particularly evident in the difference that can be observed between a person reading someone else’s speech as opposed to when expressing their own heart-felt views or feelings on a particular matter—their body language becomes more expressive and aligns with what they are saying. Healthy boundaries are the enabler of authentic self-expression and authentic leadership.

Decision-making

Decision-making is a task that leaders undertake daily in organisations and businesses. Often, a step that is missed in leadership coaching is the importance of being fully aligned with your own personal truth when going through a decision-making process. Yet, consideration of one’s personal truth is critical because it determines levels ownership of the decision—which is necessary for taking responsibility and accountability. Leaders who are not clear on their boundaries are likely to delay making decisions. One, because they find the idea of looking into themselves overwhelming and, as such, subconsciously resist it. Secondly, they are subconsciously committed to avoiding taking responsibility and accountability; procrastinating the decision as much as possible. Procrastinating the decision delays implementation.

Ethics and Integrity

In the study of boundaries, the majority of people report having difficulty with saying NO. This overarching issue makes most leaders vulnerable and weakens their commitment to ethics and integrity. A strong sense of self and alignment with one’s truth empowers leaders to say NO when they mean No and say YES when they mean YES—provided it’s what they believe to be ethical, right, and fair.

Management skills

Leading a life founded on healthy boundaries empowers an entrepreneur or executive to excel in other aspects of managing, namely planning, organising, and controlling. What’s being planned, organised or controlled on a daily basis is the collective resources of the organisation—time, money and energy. The entire process of management becomes chaotic without clearly set boundaries. Boundaries wouldn’t be such an issue if components of one’s life didn’t intersect or influence each other. For example, a leader with a lack of boundaries in his finance sector is likely to end up with high levels of debt, followed by stress and anxiety which in turn affects their mental health and subsequently their ability to manage and lead effectively.

A lack of boundaries shows up in subtle ways, but bring big and often long-term impacts:

Under-negotiating

People that lack healthy boundaries perceive themselves as less than, often putting others on a pedestal. Put differently, people who lack boundaries have a lower sense of self-worth. With a lower sense of self-worth comes undervaluing of the self and it becomes evident in the way in which they give time, money, and energy away for free or for far less than market value. Negotiating from a disempowered position means the leader gives away more than he could have when transacting for the business.

Setting a price/fee

Linked to the previous point, a lower sense of self-worth is embedded on a perception that naturally undervalues what one has to offer—whether it’s a product or service. People who lack boundaries believe that their service or product must be cheaper for it to sell. People with healthy boundaries, therefore, a higher sense for worth, believe that the value they bring to the customer is what gets customers to buy their service.

Unclear terms of engagement

Particularly for entrepreneurs, consultants, and freelancers, it’s easy to get excited by the thrill of having an assignment without clear rules of engagement for binding both parties. This practice of not setting boundaries comes from the fear from the party that perceives themselves as lesser of the two (in this case, the owner of a small business)—fear that insisting on a contract or formal agreement might rock the boat with the client. This abandoning of a standard boundary is a clear sign of weak boundaries and when things don’t go as planned, it backfires mostly for the weaker link.

Struggling to speak your truth

The most obvious symptom of lack of boundaries is the habit of people-pleasing—saying YES when meaning No and NO when you mean YES. A symptom that is not obvious would be feeling a lump in your throat when about to stand up for something you believe in—i.e., disagreeing with a client or wanting to pose a difficult but necessary question. This is caused by the conflict within the self—one party knowing what your truth is and the other judging you for your feelings or views, particularly they are different to those of people around you.

Not holding people accountable

Setting boundaries and not following through with enforceable consequences is counterintuitive. When people who violate boundaries in personal and business spaces are not held accountable, it implies that the boundary, policy or regulation were a mere tick-box exercise.

Conscious leaders are committed to being held accountable and they exercise courage to hold others accountable.

Setting healthy boundaries is not only beneficial to the entrepreneur or executive, but it is to the organisations they lead and the society they operate in.

Ndumi Hadebe is the author of ‘Handle Black Tax Like a PRO – Setting Boundaries, Improving Relationships, and Achieving Freedom’.

Transactional vs transformational leadership: contrasting styles and impact

In the realm of leadership, transactional and transformational styles represent two distinct approaches with different impacts on organisations and their members. Transactional leadership focuses on short-term goals, compliance, and structured procedures, while transformational leadership emphasises long-term vision, inspiration, and personal growth. The Economic Times Spotlight team explore...

Leadership is a fundamental aspect of organisational success, influencing the direction and culture of a company. Among the various leadership styles that have emerged over time, two prominent ones are transactional and transformational leadership. These contrasting styles have distinct characteristics, approaches, and impacts on organisations and their members.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership is often associated with a more traditional approach to management. It focuses on maintaining order and achieving short-term goals through a system of rewards and punishments. Leaders who adopt this style rely on a clear chain of command, well-defined roles and responsibilities, and strict adherence to established procedures.

The characteristics of transactional leadership include:

1. 1. Contingent Rewards: Transactional leaders motivate their team members by offering tangible rewards in exchange for meeting specific performance goals. This approach encourages compliance and often relies on extrinsic motivation, such as bonuses or promotions.
   
2. 2. Management by Exception: Transactional leaders monitor their team’s performance closely and intervene when deviations from established standards occur. They typically address issues through corrective actions and penalties, reinforcing a culture of accountability.
   
3. 3. Clarity of Expectations: Team members in a transactional leadership environment know precisely what is expected of them, as roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. This clarity can provide a sense of security and predictability.
   

Impact of Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership can be effective in certain contexts, such as industries with strict regulations or environments where safety and adherence to established protocols are paramount. However, it also has limitations. While it may drive short-term results and maintain order, it can stifle creativity and innovation. Team members may become motivated solely by rewards, leading to a lack of intrinsic motivation and limited personal growth. Over time, a transactional leadership style may hinder an organisation’s ability to adapt to change and thrive in dynamic markets.

Transformational Leadership

In contrast to transactional leadership, transformational leadership focuses on long-term vision and inspiring change. Transformational leaders seek to motivate and empower their team members by fostering a shared vision, encouraging creativity, and promoting personal growth.

The characteristics of transformational leadership include:

1. 1. Inspirational Vision: Transformational leaders articulate a compelling vision for the future, inspiring their team members to pursue ambitious goals. They emphasize the significance of the organisation’s mission and the role each individual plays in achieving it.
   
2. 2. Individualised Consideration: These leaders pay close attention to the needs and aspirations of each team member, providing personalised support and mentorship. This approach fosters a sense of belonging and commitment among employees.
   
3. 3. Intellectual Stimulation: Transformational leaders encourage critical thinking and innovation. They challenge the status quo, promote open communication, and create an environment where new ideas are welcomed and explored.
   

Impact of Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership can have a profound and positive impact on organisations. By inspiring employees to share a common vision and take ownership of their work, it can lead to increased job satisfaction, motivation, and commitment.

Employees are more likely to feel engaged and passionate about their roles, leading to higher levels of creativity and innovation. Moreover, transformational leaders are often associated with organisational adaptability, making them valuable in industries characterised by rapid change and uncertainty.

Contrasting Styles and Finding the Balance

While transactional and transformational leadership are often presented as opposing styles, they are not mutually exclusive. Effective leaders can incorporate elements of both styles to suit different situations.

This hybrid approach, known as ‘transformational-transactional leadership’, allows leaders to provide structure and clarity when needed while also inspiring and motivating their teams.

Finding the right balance between these two styles depends on various factors, including the organisation’s culture, industry, and specific challenges. In some situations, such as crisis management or routine tasks, transactional leadership may be more appropriate. In others, particularly when driving innovation or organisational change, transformational leadership can be highly effective.

In the realm of leadership, transactional and transformational styles represent two distinct approaches with different impacts on organisations and their members. Transactional leadership focuses on short-term goals, compliance, and structured procedures, while transformational leadership emphasises long-term vision, inspiration, and personal growth.

Effective leaders recognise the value of both styles and adapt their approach to meet the needs of their teams and organisations. Ultimately, leadership is not a one-size-fits-all concept, and the ability to navigate the complexities of leadership styles is a crucial skill for those seeking to lead organisations to success in an ever-evolving world.

The Economic Times Spotlight team

This article first appeared on Economic Times and is published with permission.

Evil multiplies while good is silenced

Bonang Mohale investigates the current economic situation in South Africa and offers various solutions which could put the economy back on track

In the midst of two wars in both Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, the world is in a precarious position! There is an expectation that geopolitical competition will increase countries’ and companies’ focus on building more resilient and diversified supply chains. Critical mineral supply chains will receive particular attention due to their growing importance for the green-energy transition, defence systems, and other high-tech applications, as well as their vulnerability to supply shocks. Competition between the US and China has put the need for more resilient and diversified supply chains in focus. Both countries rely on complex, international networks of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors to provide the goods and services that make the two largest economies and the global economy function seamlessly.

The most important questions about global supply chains used to be about economics—what is the price of a given good and how efficient is the delivery? But today, some of the most important questions are about geopolitics—where are goods coming from, are they important for national security, and how can we know that the supply is secure and resilient to shocks? The current focus on critical minerals has been a long time in the making. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader responsible for launching the country’s economic reform and opening up, stated: “The Middle East has oil. Chinas has rare earth metals.” In the 20th century, the world experienced energy shocks due to a lack of supply chain resilience and diversification, the concentration of energy resources and geopolitical events like the Arab Oil Boycott of 1973 and the Iran Hostage Crisis. As countries transition from fossil fuels to green energy, allowing such vulnerabilities to persist in the 21st century would present unnecessary risks.

A coordinated, successful strategy to build more diverse and resilient critical mineral supply chains would need to take a comprehensive view of where the most pressing needs are today, where demand is heading, and include technological solutions to make the supply chain more resilient, efficient, and cost-effective. Such a strategy would require the public and private sectors to work together on new investments, new approaches to regulation, and new forms of international cooperation. The world remains optimistic that business and economic conditions will improve in 2024, with positive expectations about demand and revenue. Technology and digital transformation are still key areas of the business environment ripe with opportunity. Companies are looking to deploy technology to displace the need for added labour.

The year 2023 has been difficult for activity in sub-Saharan African economies. The inflationary shock following Russia’s war in Ukraine has prompted higher interest rates worldwide, which has meant slowing international demand, elevated spreads, and ongoing exchange rate pressures. As a result, growth in 2023 is expected to fall for the second year in a row to 3.3% from 4.0% last year. The region is expected to rebound next year, with growth increasing to 4.0% in 2024, picking up in four-fifths of the sub-Saharan Africa’s countries and with strong performances in non-resource intensive countries. Macroeconomic imbalances are also improving—inflation is falling for most of the region and public finances are gradually being put on a more sustainable footing. But the rebound is not guaranteed. A slowdown in reform efforts, a rise in political instability within the region or external downside risks (including from China slowing down) could undermine growth. Moreover, four risks are on the horizon which require determined policy action in the face of difficult tradeoffs, namely, inflation is still too high. It is in double digits in 14 countries. And it remains above target in most countries with explicit targets; the region continues to face significant exchange rate pressures; debt vulnerabilities are elevated. The funding squeeze is not over, as borrowing rates are still high and rolling over debt is a challenge. And half of the low-income countries in the region are at high risk or in debt distress and while the recovery is underway, economic divergences within the region are widening, in particular, per capita incomes in resource intensive economies remain subdued.

Against this background, the policy priorities are; addressing inflation—for countries where inflation is high but falling, a “pause” may be warranted, with rates held at existing elevated levels until inflation is firmly on the path to target. In countries with still rising inflation, further monetary tightening may be required until there are clear signs that inflation is cooling; managing exchange rate pressures—for pegged countries, monetary policy needs to be aligned with the anchor country to preserve external stability and prevent further losses of reserves. In countries with floating exchange rates, currencies should be allowed to adjust as much as possible, since efforts to resist fundamentals-based movements come at a significant cost. The adjustment should be accompanied by other policy measures like tighter monetary policy to keep inflation in check, targeted support for the poor, structural reforms to strengthen the export sector and fiscal consolidation where the fiscal deficit is adding to exchange rate pressures; managing debt obligations while creating space for development spending—for much of the region, fiscal policy must adapt to a tighter financing envelope and elevated debt vulnerabilities. This involves better mobilising domestic revenue, a strategic approach to spending, borrowing prudently, and anchoring fiscal policy through a credible medium-term framework. In the few countries where debt is unsustainable, debt restructuring may also be needed. With large development needs and limited fiscal space, most countries need greater financial support from donors and improving living standards and potential growth, particularly in resource intensive countries—boosting income per capita will require wide-ranging structural reforms, including investment in education, better natural resource management, improved business climate and digitalisation, and a commitment to trade integration.

South Africa currently has an official population of 60.02 million people and rapidly growing, of which 27.3 million (45%) and growing are on social security at an annual cost of R232 billion. Only 7.1 million (11.8%) out of 16.1 million employed are taxpayers! The economy remains in a low-growth trap as the average growth rate was below the population growth rate of 1.4%, effectively meaning that South Africans are getting poorer. In addition, average incomes have declined. GDP per capita has declined from a high of R80 191 (in constant 2015 prices) in 2013 to R74 907 in 2021. In the 2012-2019 period, using the measurement of gross fixed capital formation as a percentage of GDP, it averaged 19.6%, largely as a result of a decline in private investment, a slowdown in general government spending and reduced capital spending from SOE/Cs. For the 2018-2021 period, this declining trend continued with investment as a percentage of GDP averaging 14.7%. In 2021, private investment amounted to 9.9% of GDP and public- sector investment amounted to 4.1% of GDP. The slow investment growth can largely be attributed to declining investment by the private business due to a deteriorating economic outlook, policy uncertainty, and the slowdown in general government and SOE/Cs investment.

The economy is not growing and we have the world’s worst cash in transit heists, inequality, unemployment rate, SME failure rate, and GBVF rate; local government has collapsed in the vast majority of municipalities (87.1%) and infrastructure is not being maintained; depressing education outcomes and a defunct healthcare system; law and order, safety and security are out of control; loadshedding and water shedding are giving rise to fuel shedding, because electricity has a direct and substantial impact on costs and economic growth as the higher the electricity cost, the slower is economic growth and slow economic growth causes less job creation and therefore higher unemployment, lower standard of living and higher poverty levels—ominous and impending fiscal crisis due to excessive public sector wage bill and huge burden (18%) of servicing the inordinate debt; etc.

At the heart of these challenges of still continuing state capture, service delivery failures, preponderance of several mafias, lawlessness, inefficiencies at the country’s freight rail network and ports, porous borders, SoE/Cs collapses, economic ‘recession’, below investment grade ratings, FATF grey listing, anti-doping non-compliance, etc. lies a incapable state, corruption, government incompetence, and policy paralysis that risk turning Africa’s most industrialised nation into a failed state!

Moving forward, we should pause and reflect as to whether we have succeeded in sending a strategic message that simply says South Africa is open for business and we will, systemically, systematically, and chronologically with an approach address all the self-created and own goals that have plunged the country into the current existential crisis?

That we have demonstrated beyond any shadow of doubt that we are now better prepared to put our shoulders to the wheel and, together create a sustainable country in the short term whilst building a more resilient South Africa in the long term? A South Africa that is globally competitive; can better leverage the natural resources window of opportunity; expand both rural and urban economies and markets through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs); willing and able to focus on both productivity and growth; invest in growing our own timber and talent; grow more and larger black businesses and create more African champions; fully embrace digital across all areas of the economy; lead in implementing the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA); step up regional tourism, collaboration, flows, and investment and aggressively drive green business opportunities with pace, scale, size, scope, and urgency.

More critically, have we put in place the type of leadership required? Leadership that not only promises to uphold, protect, and respect the supremacy of the Constitution but demonstrates this in deeds; puts the interests of the country above party; is pro labour, pro business and pro poor; that is serious about reshaping the country; leans into volatility; actively seeks new and more opportunities; demonstrates a heightened sense of urgency; uses hindsight in order to gain insights that will better inform foresight to commitment to execution; ambidextrous; a proactive challenger and sparring partner; as well as the ability to assume a defensive posture.

Bonang Mohale is the Chancellor of the University of the Free State, Former President of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) in the College of Business and Economics, and Chairman of two listed entities.

 Global Entrepreneurship

Andre Walters takes a broader look at why we celebrate entrepreneurship through various events, while also delving deeper into the state of entrepreneurship in general

Given the dire circumstances of South Africa’s business, SOE, and governmental environment, this is an important article to read, and to make the contents your own.

November month is listed as the ‘National Entrepreneurship Month’ in many countries across the world. It is about highlighting and celebrating the work of entrepreneurs who serve their communities and bolster the economies of their countries.

This event is designed to inspire thousands of individuals from all backgrounds to follow in the footsteps of the generations of entrepreneurs who stood out in the past by showing us how to make ever greater strides in the world of business.

Entrepreneurship is important because it promotes economic growth, provides access to goods and services, and improves the overall standard of living—and we know, here in South Africa, how very important this has become, given the great economic challenges that are being experienced by our SOEs, the low employment opportunities, and by our general living standards.

‘World Entrepreneurs Day’ is celebrated on August 21st every year. This day is all about celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship and the important role that entrepreneurs play in driving innovation, creating jobs, and fostering economic growth.

‘National Entrepreneurship Week’ (GEW) occurs every third week in February, while ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ falls in the second week in November. This year’s ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ therefore returned from the 13th to the 19th of November. It is the world’s largest entrepreneurship festival, celebrated in 180 countries.

‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ will celebrate and empower entrepreneurs in every country and community around the world—especially those individuals who face structural barriers or who may never before have considered the idea of launching a startup business.

This brings us to look at what is normally done to observe, and celebrate, ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’. The general needs vary a lot between countries, but in essence, the following shortlist does give one an idea of the range of activities that the GEW generates:

• • Every year, several events, activities, and competitions occur in countries worldwide to celebrate GEW. The expectation is that companies will participate by bringing new business ideas and methods to the table.
  
• • Individuals are urged to bring their own business ideas to life.
  
• • Companies are encouraged to contribute to organising and presenting the various events that work together to contribute to the ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’.
  

There are many participants in this world-dialogue: for example, take the University of Birmingham. Each year they run a series of events and create opportunities to celebrate ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’, where participants from across the world are invited to experiment with their own ideas, to try something new, and to gain entrepreneur skills to help them work like a boss in their study courses, their start-ups, and future careers. And there are many other themes: this edition of ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ was focused on four global themes: Education, Ecosystems, Inclusion, and Policy.

There is, predictably, given the grand scope of this outreach, also an award for the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’. And here is the winner of the coveted 2023 title:

Sajjan Jindal is the one individuals who stands out to carry away the top accolade. Sajjan Jindal is an Indian billionaire industrialist. He is the chairman and managing director of the JSW Group of companies that diversify in steel, mining, energy, sports, infrastructure, and the software business. During 2021–2022, he served as the chairman of World Steel Association.

Some personal guidance on how entrepreneurs can go global:

• • Research and narrow down your markets of opportunity.
  
• • In a rush to show the world what you have to offer, you may bite off more than you can chew. You need to narrow down the markets for the first phase of global growth by determining which markets are most viable for what you offer.
  
• • Done right, globalisation delivers sizable advantages for your business, including expanding your customer base, opening up new talent pools, driving revenue, and increasing profits.
  
• • Expanding into new, foreign markets can help a business increase its customer base and revenue, leading to overall growth and success. This is because, by operating in new markets, a business can reach a larger group of potential customers that are interested in its products, or services.
  

The 10 Ds of Entrepreneurship

Henry Dalziel, the Director of Growth at Growth Hackers Hong Kong (a website that serves as a resource for Growth Hackers and SEO Pros living and working in Hong Kong), writes about the meaning and importance of what is called the ‘10 Ds of Entrepreneurship’, and he urges you to check how many of them you possess.

The ‘10 Ds of Entrepreneurship’ were first published by William Graves, who is also the author of ‘The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship’. In essence, the ‘10 Ds’ represent the DNA of many entrepreneurs. If your vocation is to become an entrepreneur and you haven’t yet started on your journey, you might want to consider if you possess all the qualities that the ‘10 D’s’ outline below:

Dream

Entrepreneurs that start any sort of business, not just marketing agencies, all share a vision of what the future could be like for them and their businesses. However, of greater importance, they have the ability to implement their dreams. Therefore, as a founder, what is your dream? The dream should be big and bold because if you think small, you will remain small.

Decisiveness

Entrepreneurs don’t procrastinate and they typically make decisions quickly. This swiftness is a key factor in their success, and as an agency founder, this should be a key for you. For example, saying “no” to potential customers might be a good thing for you in the long run because the alternative could have annoyed some supporters and other people, which could cause bad energy and disappointment. If you feel that it isn’t going to work out, then ditch it and focus on clients that you can absolutely deliver quality digital marketing services to. You will know which ones to choose.

Doers

Entrepreneurs are all, without question, “doers”. They “talk the talk, and walk the walk”. Once they have decided on a particular course of action, they will execute it as quickly as possible. “How fast can you get wins for your client?” Ask yourself that question and if you’re confident that you can do it, don’t hang around. Get going!

Determination

Entrepreneurs manage any businesses they start with total commitment. The successful ones seldom give up, even when confronted by major obstacles that seem insurmountable. Remember, nine out of ten businesses fail, so make sure that you’re either the one that succeeds, or that you fail fast and learn from your mistakes.

Dedication

Entrepreneurs must be wholly dedicated to the businesses they start, and sometimes at considerable cost to their relationships with their friends and families. They’ll tend to work tirelessly, without thought, and to them the concept of a 9 to 5, five days a week working schedule, are all abstract concepts.

Devotion

Entrepreneurs, especially Internet Marketers, love what they do. That love and passion is what sustains them when the going gets tough. What carries them through is the love of their product.

Details

“God is in the detail,” the saying goes. Other people take the other side and say that “the devil resides in the details”. Either way, you’ll certainly see that the successful entrepreneur will almost always be obsessive about details.

Destiny

The successful entrepreneurs will want to be in charge of their own destiny, as opposed to being dependent on an employer. Remember that 99% of the people work for the 1% that never quits.

Dollars (and Rands)

For the most part, getting rich is not the prime motivator of entrepreneurs. One could argue that freedom is a greater quality. Generating wealth is more a measure of success rather than “the absolute driver”.

Distribute

Entrepreneurs understand this simple concept: “a happy employee is a good employee”. Keep your core team happy and they’ll look after you and your business.

We recently had a much-publicised BRICS conference in South Africa, and one that was not without its own controversies.

In short:

• • BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
  
• • The Economist, Jim O’Neill, created the term ‘BRIC’ in 2001 (for Brazil, Russia, India, and China) in the belief that these economies would dominate global growth by 2050.
  
• • The BRICS nations offered a source of foreign expansion for firms and strong returns for institutional investors.
  
• • The organization seeks to deepen economic cooperation between the member countries and stand in contrast to the Western sphere of power.
  
• • Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Argentina were invited to join BRICS during the 2023 conference.
  
• • Brazil has the highest level of entrepreneurship according to statistics from 2021, followed by South Africa and India. Russia still has the lowest level of entrepreneurship among the BRICS economies, despite achieving tremendous improvements over the last twenty years.
  

Entrepreneurs and their impact on jobs and economic growth

Alexander S. Kritikos, of the University of Potsdam in Germany, writes about this and he feels that entrepreneurship is important in developing countries (and here we are referring especially to BRICS) because it promotes economic growth, provides access to goods and services, and improves the overall standard of living.

Entrepreneurs create employment opportunities not only for themselves, but for others as well. Entrepreneurial activities may influence a country’s economic performance by bringing new products, methods, and production processes to the market and by boosting productivity and competition more broadly. Productive entrepreneurs can invigorate the economy by creating jobs and new technologies, and increasing productivity.

This is, amongst others, an outline of a document that was first published by DIW Berlin of the University of Potsdam, and IZA, Germany.

This brings us directly to the question: How does entrepreneurship benefit the BRICS relationships?

Entrepreneurs are significant drivers of economic development and job creation in South Africa, potentially offering a solution to large scale unemployment. To truly transform South Africa’s economy, the country needs more youth entrepreneurs to create a lasting impact on job creation and poverty alleviation.

However, a negative impact of BRICS to the South African economy can be said to lie in the fact that BRICS may erode South Africa’s domestic economy, because many products from BRICS countries directly compete with those of South Africa, unless it negotiates adroitly.

And with BRICS business interactions, it can be said that some of the major advantages of small business ownerships include the ability to be your own boss, flexibility, and potential financial rewards. Some of the major disadvantages include risk, long hours, and cash-flow challenges.

South Africa has consistently had the smallest economy of the BRICS bloc, and it has just the third largest economy in Africa; its inclusion in this group is due to the fact that it is the most advanced and stable major economy in Africa, and it holds strategic importance due to the financial potential of the continent.

In conclusion, the advantages of South Africa being in BRICS lie in the fact that this could attract more trade and investment opportunities for the country and further help to boost trade with other African countries. The expansion of BRICS could provide the building blocks for South Africa’s economic recovery and offer the country an opportunity to build further economic and political alliances.

Andre Walters is a veteran broadcaster.

Part of the system

Leadership is delighted to bring you Sandile Memela’s speech from the 13th Percy Qoboza Memorial Lecture held at UNISA on 19 October 2023

I wish to begin by making an assertion: no individual is greater than an organisation. As we are all aware, no part is greater than a whole.

So, how do you bite the hand that feeds you? This is the question that haunts Percy Qoboza. This is the question that confronts us now.

To survive, journalists, editors, and everybody else have had to throw out any moral principle and values.

“We have become part of the system that we fought against.” This is a declaration and condemnation of the transition by one of South Africa’s beloved sons.

In fact, we are not just part of the system, we are The Establishment.

Renowned South African writer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nadine Gordimer, used and introduced the word ‘interregnum’ in a conversation. We were in a bus, traveling from one workshop to another during the African Women Writers’ Symposium in the early 1990s.

So, it was during the interregnum, the transitional period, when I interviewed rebel Afrikaner writer, poet, intellectual, dissident, and activist, Breyten Breytenbach.

He had temporarily returned to the country, for whatever reason. I went to interview him at the then RAU campus. One of the things he told me was that he would be leaving and not staying in South Africa. He would not return because he did not want to be part of the system that he fought against.

I loved how he put his words. He was a poet: part of the system that he fought against.

The thing is: you cannot hold two opposing thoughts and remain the same.

As an editor and journalist, what is the price of survival? What does it take to hold on to moral principles and ideals that question authority and challenge the system?

If correct, Breytenbach felt that you cannot be an ethical and moral person when you live and work in an unjust society. He felt that he could not live a life of principle when the political leadership had compromised by allowing apartheid to continue. And here we are.

This encounter with Breytenbach has stayed with me since then. The feature profile is buried somewhere in City Press archives, behind a pay wall.

Greeting and gratitude

Mangibingelele, ngibulise. It is yet another beautiful day in South Africa. We are blessed to be here. Baningi abangavukanga. Some of us are at that age where we collapse and die.

When Bra Percy died, on his birthday in January 1988, he was only 50 years old. He was too young to die. They say he suffered a heart attack. There was a war going on. The last push against apartheid.

You must read Susan William’s ‘White Malice’ to understand that the system does not think twice to kill and murder its opponents.

Bra Percy was an enemy of the apartheid state because of what he wrote.

To the National Press Club, UNISA and, above all, the Qoboza family, it is a privilege to be your special guest speaker, today. Thanks, TQ.

I tried to wriggle out of this engagement, but National Press Club deputy chair, Kennedy Mudzuli, was tenacious like a bulldog. He would not have a “No, try someone else” from me. He admitted, at a preparatory meeting, that he bullied me into this.

You see, I am not an academic who will cite this reference and quote this colonialist professor and/or expert from some journal. Neither am I a sharp intellectual who lives the life of the mind. I am just a guy next door who loves to think and write and probe.

So, here I am. You will have to bear with me. Let me thank you for coming to lend me your ears. But I am not here to praise journalists or Bra Percy. Being a journalist is a thankless job, to quote Bra Khulu Sibiya. Nor am I here to condemn or criticise them. They have their faults and limitations.

Those who know will tell you that journalists and editors are neither saints nor angels. They can be devils, giving people sleepless nights.

The context

I am here to contextualise the role of media practitioners, what they can do or cannot do within the constraints of their situation. What is the meaning of Bra Percy’s life, if any, and how did he navigate working within the system. He desired to be a moral voice. He was that. But how did he balance that with making money for the bosses? It is a very complicated subject matter that I have been asked to address: ethical journalism and survival of journalism. Yet it is simple.

We must think about what Breytenbach said or believed, then: you cannot uphold and promote moral principles and values—as a writer, journalist, or ordinary person—when you live, work, and want to survive in an unjust and immoral society.

It sounds harsh to describe Mzansi as an unjust and immoral society. But the World Bank says this is the most unequal society on earth. We know about the poverty, hunger, unemployment, and inequality.

So, how do you stand up against immoral employers that want you to simply make money for them? How do you bite the hand that feeds you? Can a journalist do that?

The media has an unavoidable incestuous relationship with government, politicians, and big business, among others.

An editor will be required or expected to have contacts with the President or Ministers to get advertising. A journalist will have to side with a faction or have close relations with a political party to get stories. And write from a particular perspective.

The newspaper will have to tread carefully about writing stories that embarrass corporations that bring in advertising revenue. It is a case of who pays the piper.

They are all part of the same racist, patriarchal capitalist economic system. And the owners, government, politicians, and big business all have a very clear agenda: to use journalists in the media to promote, protect, and preserve their interests, an unjust status quo. Above all, to make money and profits.

Thus, I will touch on ownership, the role of the invisible owner in newsrooms, the perspective of black journalists, how The World covered June 1976 and why, Tsietsi Mashinini and the rise of Black Consciousness, among others.

Above all, explore and speculate how Percy Qoboza walked the political tightrope, for he did.

One of my favorite Percy’s Pitch column quotes says: ‘If you sometimes get mad at me, because the sentiments I express keep you awake at night, then I am glad. In a PQ style, I will be provocative, give you something to keep you awake at night.’

Please note that there is no malicious intent. I am just expressing opinions. I am trying to contribute to discourse on the media.

To get to the right questions about the role and relevance of the media, we need to ask the right questions: who owns the media and what is their agenda, for instance?

If I can be provocative: the cronyism, corruption, State Capture, and failures of the ANC are not the be-all and end-all of the South African Story or problems that come with it.

Where are the stories about the landowners? Those that control the economy? And who continues to benefit from apartheid? They have vanished.

Above all, who guards the guardians of society? Who questions the media on the motives for the stories that they cover and those that they ignore?

To echo Breytenbach’s sentiments: the media have become part of the system we fought against. They always have been. Editors lost the war, a long time ago.

As you know, it is either you are part of the problem, or part of the solution. Media practitioners are part of the problem.

The stories we write are not for mental liberation but intellectual enslavement to perpetuate the economic system. I am not sure that how or why the media runs certain stories. They are not looking at the bigger picture.

The confrontation

Let me recall an encounter with Bra Percy. I have vivid memories of an interaction. I was thrust into his newsroom by verligte Broederbond Afrikaners who paid for my university education. I had just graduated, in absentia, from Fort Hare in 1984.

When I arrived at the paper, he was not the editor. Percy Selwyn-Smith, an amiable warm and kind white man, was.

But Selwyn-Smith was soon removed to make way for a black editor to lead a white-owned newspaper. There are various stories about how this came about. Bra Percy was unemployed, working as a consultant and strategist after the closure of the Post in 1981. City Press was relaunched in 1982.

No doubt, whites were under pressure to give the job to a black in the name of transformation.

So, I was present at the party to celebrate Bra Percy’s ascendence to the editorial throne in 1985. There was food, conviviality, music, and great conversations. Some of us were young and dreamed of being superstar journalists.

I remember leaving the party venue, a white tent filled with dominantly black staff of City Press, Drum, and True Love, to get something from the newsroom. On my way back, I was summoned and confronted by PQ who sat at a secluded spot with Bra Stan Motjuwadi, the editor of Drum.

I approached them with deference as they were both my role models and icons. But what Bra Percy said was, quick and sudden, like a bullet in the back.

“Yes, Sandile, the blue-eyed boy yamaBhunu. Sikubhekile, we are watching you.”

I knew where this was going. It meant that I was suspected to be a spy or stooge. I looked at both Bra Percy and Bra Stan. After a brief pause, I shot back, “But you, too, are working for, holding high positions, earning good money yamaBhunu. Is there a problem that I don’t understand?”

For me, it was a question of the pot calling the kettle black. They were playing the holier-than-though game. Planting seeds of black guilt.

They looked at each other and then glared back at me. I don’t remember their answer, but I left them as they lifted their glasses to enjoy a bottle of Beefeater.

I guess they had a beef with me or that my university education was sponsored by amaBhunu. Thus, they wanted to eat me alive for that.

I don’t know what you make out of this anecdote, but it is loaded. It is a question that haunts black journalists and editors, to this day. Who pays your salaries? Who gave Bra Percy his job and why?

In fact, I was so incensed that I recorded my experiences in the newsroom. This culminated in my book, ‘His Master’s Voice’, that explores the psyche and details the experiences of black journalists in media. It is a book that I wrote back in 1987. It was declined for publication. I only brought it out 22 years later in 2012. As far as I know, it is the only book that critically examines the plight of journalists and editors working in media.

For all it is worth, it is a sizzler. Maybe UNISA can prescribe it?

Media ownership

The undertone of our brief encounter with the legends was the question: Whose interests do journalists and the media serve?

He who owns the media, owns the narrative. When you own the media, you control how people see the world and the future.

Worse, everything that the average person knows is what they are fed by the media.

Now, Bra Percy and Bra Stan, celebrated as they were, were black editors. And black journalists and editors do not own the media. They are employees and must do what they are told.

Well, blacks own media houses, today. Nothing has changed. It continues to cover the South Africa Story like foreigners. Worse, the media is the least transformed industry in the country.

For example, the definition of news has not changed. The structure of the newsroom has not changed: top down. The fire wall between business and editorial has collapsed. Today, editors must have MBAs from Ivy League universities. Ivy League universities like Harvard campus, where Nieman Fellows go, do not teach or train you to fight the economic system. You go there to learn how to serve business owners to make more money.

In fact, journalism schools are good hunting grounds for the intelligence service.

This is not to cast aspersion or take anything away from anyone. But if a journalist or editor works in corporate controlled media, they are likely to make mistakes and commit sins. And when they make mistakes, the guilty party is not the journalists and editors but those who own the means of productions.

We need to be very clear about one fact: freedom of the media belongs to those who own it.

Only a fool would expect those who own the media to give a platform to black journalists and editors to write demands for the return of the land and equal distribution of the wealth of the country, for example. To constantly remind whites that this is a racist country. Anti-black.

Sandile Memela is a writer, cultural critic, and public servant.

The case for declaring police killings as treason in South Africa

POPCRU has declared that police killings ought to be
declared treason, writes Dr Zizamele Cebekhulu-Makhaza

Police officers risk their lives to fulfil their mandate to their country every day, but the alarming rate at which they are being killed is cause for concern. The first quarter’s crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele painted a grim picture for South African police officers, revealing that as many as 31 police members were murdered between April and the end of June this year—an average of one officer every three days. And since June, we have seen several more deadly attacks on police, both while on and off duty, with many losing their lives.

This gradual upsurge is unacceptable and through the years, police management has promised measures to bolster the safety of police officers. But as more wreaths are being laid for fallen officers, greater investments in their safety and protection are urgently required.

Unfortunately, in many cases, police officers are targeted for their firearms, as well as for their ties to high-profile cases or other investigations. We have also received reports of a disturbing new trend where gang members are killing police officers as part of their initiation.

To combat these trends, we must ensure that crime intelligence services are adequately resourced and that they share information effectively. Next, our police officers must receive the housing allowances required to ensure that they are able to find and live in safe and secure homes. Furthermore, we must also equip our police service with the resources and manpower needed to increase their presence and visibility in our communities, and deter criminals from illegal activities. The SAPS is constantly understaffed. This, together with a lack of resources and proper training, limits their ability to effectively combat crime. Additionally, there is a continuous shortage of boots on the ground, as the current SAPS structure is top-heavy and too many members are left to sit in offices rather than patrolling the streets.

Then consider that MEC Reagen Allen of the Western Cape reports that the national police-to-population ratio stands at one officer for every 413 residents. But in many disadvantaged areas with soaring levels of crime and violence, this ratio is even lower, with one officer for as many as 700 or even 800 residents.

Additionally, it is important to recognise that South Africa is ranked as the fifth most dangerous country globally and has the highest crime rate in Africa with a crime index of 75.5, reflecting the high demands placed on our police. And as economic pressures and social dissatisfaction grow, the situation is likely to only get worse. Ultimately, this means that police are often simply outmatched by criminals, placing them and their lives at extreme risk. Currently, however, the legal consequences for killing police officers remain insufficient to effectively prevent criminals from targeting them for attack, as demonstrated by the gradual upsurge in police deaths.

Today, if criminals are successfully brought to task and are found guilty of killing a police officer, they will face a murder charge which is punishable by a sentence of life imprisonment. According to South African law, an individual facing a life sentence is then eligible for parole after 25 years, which means that criminals often go free. If it is their first offence, they only need to serve 15 years in prison.

In other words, there is no real justice for slain police officers.Yet as the police are mandated to protect citizens and prevent crime, a threat against them is a threat against the safety of all South Africans, and a treasonous threat to our constitutional democracy. Treason can be defined as the unlawful act of violating or endangering the security of the state. And by this definition, killing police officers, rejecting the rule of law, and working against the security of our state is most certainly a treasonous act. The deaths of police officers detracts from the SAPS’ ability to execute its mandate and safeguard our communities, posing a significant danger to South African citizens.

By classifying the killing of a police officer as both murder and treason, we hope to send a strong warning to all criminals to respect law enforcement, and that harsh penalties await any who threaten these vital public servants.

As a result, POPCRU has declared that police killings ought to be declared treason. We call on the state and legislators to demand harsher punishments for offenders and ensure justice for police members. We can no longer be passive in our approach and sit idly as our members are being slaughtered. Now is the time for action to ensure their protection, punishing perpetrators to the full extent of the law, and making all criminals think twice before threatening our police officers.

Dr Zizamele Cebekhulu-Makhaza is the President of South Africa’s Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU).

Building bridges the right way

Ovum Corporation, under the guidance of Nicholas Featherston, are proving that innovation and collaboration are the right mix when it comes to obtaining success in the world of engineering

In May 2019, Nicholas Featherston attended a conference in Singapore. While this was not an uncommon occurrence for him, what he would gain from this particular experience was life changing.

After being considerably impressed by the manner in which the people of Singapore have managed to combine the biology of plant life into their buildings, an idea was sparked in his mind—and the Ovum Corporation was born a year later.

His view on buildings and technology was changed forever, and formed the basis for all that Ovum Corporation is able to offer South Africa and the world at large.

”Our aim has always been to collaborate with our clients and partners to give them the right space to explore their ideas and projects. We therefore started Ovum because we identified a need within the market for niche companies that deal in many of the specialised aspects of civil and structural engineering,” the Ovum Corporation’s Founder and Managing Director says.

”I think that many clients out there are quite tired of dealing with large corporate entities that are slow to respond, are full of red tape, pay lip service to innovation, and often lack the capacity to implement. With Ovum, you get personalised attention along with our technical expertise, and we have found that clients really respond to this in a big way.”

Ovum Corporation specialises in the fields of civil engineering, structural and bridge engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and green building design and certification.

What sets them apart from the competition is their ability to think globally about issues, with innovation and a caring attitude towards our planet and its people being the vital components of their success to date.

Featherston explains: ”We like to think globally, and we like to think about greening the planet and assisting communities in new and innovative ways. Most of all, we like to bring novel ideas to the table when it comes to design solutions. I think that our attention to detail and our overall service level also stands out. Other than this, we have a wide network, a large base of clients, and expertise that we are able to tap into when required.”

Setting a standard in Africa and beyond

Through their alliances with other companies and countries around the world, Ovum Corporation have been involved in various mega-bridge projects in Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.

In Rwanda, their involvement resulted in some very interesting hydrology study work, which led to their findings being published in an article in the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) magazine.

In a bid for further expansion, Ovum plans to take on the Asian and Middle-East markets in a more structured manner in the future.

”Every time we win some new work, it always brings a good feeling to the team. Probably one of our finest moments has been the witnessing of the soft opening of the freeway in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to traffic for the first time. This was a major milestone, after being involved on the project for the past three years,” Featherston, who holds a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from Stellenbosch University, says.

”We also recently managed to complete the Basic Design Phase for a piece of major infrastructure in Secunda on a tight timeline of two months, with very few comebacks. I think this was also a very satisfying time for our team.

”I believe that the diversity of the projects that we’ve been involved in has made life really exciting, as it has pulled us to all corners of the globe and across South Africa. We’ve been privileged to have visited numerous interesting mine sites, a refinery, several bridge sites, and various commercial properties since we started.”

At the time of writing, Ovum Corporation are busy with various projects of note, including bridge structure-related projects such as the Dhaka Elevated Expressway in Bangladesh. This is a major project in the sense that it will assist in alleviating the significant traffic issues in the heart of Dhaka.

Featherston’s team are also currently focused on the Glen Heatlie N1 project for SANRAL, which will also bring significant benefit to road users in the region.

Expanding on the topic of current projects, Featherston avers: ”We also have some technically challenging work with a gold refinery in Johannesburg which will assist the company we are dealing with to keep their refinery operations running in a safe manner as well as to update the process to the latest technology. We are also working with temporary works contractors to design re-usable girders for some upcoming bridge construction projects across the country—this has been particularly interesting work, getting into the mind of a contractor. These are just some projects we are involved in, there are others in the pipeline, including some large scale materials handling-related projects.”

Not all plain sailing

While Ovum Corporation have enjoyed great success to date, things don’t always go according to plan, as is the nature of the sector.

Two of the biggest obstacles which Featherston has encountered have to do with corruption and red tape. This is down to a lot of growing political instability in various regions around the world; something which Ovum has had to understand, accommodate, and work around—but it’s been far from easy.

In addition, it is generally difficult to enter a country if you don’t have the right partnerships and networks of people who are friendly to you, which Featherston explains as ”a bit of a chicken and egg approach”, as you have to show certain capabilities before you can be given the work. ”From our collective experience and networks however, we have fortunately been able to forge alliances in certain regions abroad,” he adds.

Another hindrance to growth has come in the form of tough times locally, but what cannot be done locally is made up for with business internationally, which provides Ovum with an interesting and diverse mix of experiences.

”There has been a noted slow down in certain work opportunities locally, but there has also been an increase in many energy-related projects. Internationally, we are constantly monitoring upcoming projects and seeking to work with clients from abroad. Sometimes we might get involvement in a project via a contractor, other times we might get involvement via the sponsor of the project or even another designer,” the Green Star New Building Accredited Professional states.

”We are not afraid to take on work from outside South Africa, but we have to acknowledge that it comes with risks. South Africa is no longer the only major economic hub in Africa, and our recent stats show that we are only growing at approximately 0.4%. In contrast, Nigeria’s GDP in 2022 amounted to nearly $480 billion—the highest in Africa, whilst South Africa’s GDP was just over $400 billion.”

Innovation and giving back

A big part of the Ovum Corporation’s strategy revolves around innovation.

It has been Featherston’s belief from the very beginning that real innovation comes from the cross pollination of different disciplines.

This belief is evident in the example he gave us of how innovation can play such a vital role in finding solutions to problems, with the drawing of inspiration from something as simple as a bird having the power to solve issues which have the power to baffle the most impressive of minds.

”There was once an issue with the Japanese train called the Shinkansen bullet train. The train travelled along high-speed railways throughout Japan at speeds of up to 320km/hr, carrying many passengers every year. However, in its first design iteration, the high speeds caused an atmospheric pressure wave to build up in front of the train. When the train travelled through tunnels, the wave would cause an audible ‘tunnel boom’ at the exit, which disturbed nearby residents,” he explains.

”The engineers had to find a way for the train to travel more quietly without sacrificing speed or using more energy, so they chose to look to nature for guidance. They noticed how kingfisher birds are able to slice through the air and dive into the water to catch prey while barely making a splash. They then re-designed the front end of the train to mimic the shape of the kingfisher’s beak. Not only did this help to reduce noise and eliminate tunnel booms, but it also allowed the train to travel 10% faster whilst using 15% less electricity.”

It is this type of innovation which the Ovum Corporation strives for when it comes to servicing their clients.

”At Ovum, we tend to think along these lines, bringing different disciplines into the mix whilst often using BIM (Building Information Modelling) software to provide the client with a clear vision of what the project might look like, as well as its impact. I like to go outside the field of engineering and delve into other sciences. My brother, for example, works with genetics and I often enjoy sharing ideas with him to get alternative perspectives on how to solve problems that we may be dealing with,” he adds.

With their innovation giving clients top quality solutions, Ovum Corporation, as a result, are able to feed their success back to the community.

This is carried out in the form of financial support for several charity organisations—Meals on Wheels, Doctors Without Borders, and Animals in Distress, amongst others—and through the training of students to help them garner work experience on their CVs.

From 2023 into the future

The year 2023 has been a successful one for Ovum Corporation.

While there have been tough economic conditions to navigate, the company has been able to bring on board a number of new clients with some large projects, all of which have played an important role in providing a sense of sustainability.

But the hard work does not stop now, as 2024 is expected to be an even bigger and better year for Featherston’s team.

”Heading into 2024, I would like to see us operate in more blue ocean type markets. We have plans to open up a speciality in acoustic engineering, as music and sound engineering is one of my passions, and we plan to develop some more capabilities in the mechanical engineering sphere. Aside from that, we will be expanding our website and looking to deepen our relationships with our existing client base,” Featherston says.

In terms of the long-term future of the business, Featherston is determined to grow in size and capability, with the opening of offices in other developing countries being a key target.

If time permits, he is also keen to get more involved in the vertical farming and green bridge spaces, as these are further opportunities where he believes his team can add significant value.

”I am also always keen to diversify our current skill set, which I think should be a lifelong endeavour for any person. I think that a person should never stop reading, never stop studying, and never stop learning,” he concludes.

And we couldn’t agree more with that.

#MentalHealth matters in the workplace... for everyone’s sake

The rapidly rising tide of mental illness in the workplace is a serious risk to business sustainability, writes Dr Fundile Nyati

In 1948, the World Health Organisation (WHO), who are the custodians of all matters health from a global context, defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not just the absence of disease and infirmity”. Since then, this bio-psycho-social (BPS) definition of health by the WHO has not been officially revised, even though many leading thoughtleaders in healthcare led by American philosopher, scholar, and medical ethicist at the Kennedy School of Ethics, Dr Daniel P. Sulmasy, has in the past two decades been advocating for an expanded health definition that includes spiritual health as the fourth pillar, thereby forming an unofficial broader definition of health being Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual (BPSS).

Looking at the original and official WHO holistic definition of health, one of the key pillars of BPS holistic health is #MentalHealth. So, if we then zoom into this key pillar of mental health, we further need to define it, to ensure that we have a common point of departure or understanding, before we delve deeper into it. So, what is #MentalHealth? The answer is that it is “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to his or her community”.

Therefore, looking at the definition of #MentalHealth, the optimal levels of #MentalHealth for everyone demands good performance on four key abilities; firstly, being to realise one’s own potential; secondly, the ability to cope with normal day-to-day life stresses; thirdly, to be productive or fruitful in one’s endeavours; and, fourthly, the ability to add value to one’s community or society. So, to fulfil the above definition of mental health, one ideally must score well in all the four key requirements of optimal mental health.

Now that we have dispensed with the foundational definition issues of health broadly, and #MentalHealth specifically, we can now proceed with our topic of discussion for this latest instalment of my #HealthMatters article, that being the ‘rapidly rising or burgeoning prevalence of #MentalIllness or #MentalDisorder locally here in South Africa, and globally’. As you can see from this previous sentence, I have just introduced two key concepts of #MentalIllness or #MentalDisorder, and it is important that I clarify these as well.

What is #MentalIlness or #MentalDisorder? A person with a #MentalDisorder or #MentalIllness is a person whose mental health is not in an optimal state, meaning they do not completely fulfil the broad definition of #MentalHealth as defined herein above, in that the underlying disturbance in their state of #MentalHealth makes them to have a mental dysfunction, which negatively affects their abilities at home; or at work; or in society in general; or on two or all three levels.

Because of the #WorldMentalHealthDay on the 10th of October of every year for the last 31 years, the month of October has now been designated #MentalHealthMonth in the annual health calendars of most countries, including by our own National Department of Health (NDoH), here in South Africa. So, the theme of #WorldMentalHealthDay2023 was “#MentalHealth is a universal human right”. This theme resonates a lot with us here in South Africa because, generally, there is a big problem of inequity of access to affordable, quality healthcare for most of our people.

The problem of health inequity with regards to access to affordable, quality #MentalHealth care is even worse, both in the public health sector and the private health sector, the latter largely funded by private medical schemes and out of pocket self-funding. When one looks at the public health sector, or private health sectors, there is a clear and severe bias in favour of physical healthcare, at the detriment of #MentalHealth care, when it comes to strategic and operational prioritisation, which is then reflected in the resourcing allocations, for example, budgeting for necessary facilities, necessary supporting infrastructure, staffing etc.

In the private health sector, generally, the medical schemes have a disproportionate allocation of benefits in favour of physical health challenges, as opposed to allocations for #MentalHealth challenges, yet the latter group is now arguably a top five driver for people to seek health professional help at all levels of healthcare services.

In recognition of the fact that healthcare is a basic human right, Section 27 (1) of our national Constitution here in SA says everyone has a right to have access to healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare, and no one can be refused emergency medical treatment. On the ground, the reality is however different, especially when it comes to #MentalHealth care, hence the relevance of this year’s theme for the overwhelming majority of South Africans, of all levels of the social strata.

#MentalHealth challenges are very democratic or non-discriminatory because none amongst us is immune to suffering from them; they affect people of all walks of life/social strata; they affect people of all races or ethnic group; they affect people of all genders or sexual orientation; and they affect people of all income levels. Prevalence wise, the situation was already very worrying before the COVID-19 pandemic, now as we negotiate the post-COVID-19 era, the situation has gone from bad to worse.

To illustrate the magnitude of the #MentalHealth tsunami that we are facing here in South Africa, at a recent #WorldMentalHealthDay event that was hosted by Discovery Group at their head office in Sandton, various speakers or experts in the field shared some very worrying statistics and trends.

Ms Cassey Chambers, who is the Operations Director of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), shared some worrying statistics from their operations. She shared that in South Africa today, 1 in 3 people experience a mental health issue, yet of those people only 1 in 10 of them (10% of them) access the necessary treatment and support. Further, Ms Chambers shared that before COVID-19, their toll-free helpline used to handle 600 calls per day, and now it handles 3 000 calls per day, a five-fold increase in the helpline utilisation. In addition to the calls made to the helpline, they also handled hundreds of SMS messages, e-mails, and social media interaction requiring help with #MentalHealth issues.

From a workplace perspective in South Africa, pre-COVID-19, a research study that was led by Professor C. Lundt from the University of Stellenbosch found that on average, at least 1 in 4 employees (25%) experienced #MentalHealth challenges. What was even more worrying as a finding in that study was that only 25% (a quarter) of the employees who were struggling with #MentalHealth challenges, sought professional help and disclosed their #MentalHealth challenges in their workplaces.

What the Stellenbosch University-conducted study finding meant therefore was that 75% (three quarters) of the employees who have #MentalHealth challenges were most likely untreated, and obviously their situation was worsening with time, thereby negatively affecting their work productivity due to sick absenteeism and presenteeism (being present at work, yet with sub optimal levels of productivity). In trying to explain the possible reasons why three quarters of the affected employees opted not to seek professional help or disclose to their employers, the issue of fear of stigmatisation and possible discrimination or victimisation played a big role. So, the workplace culture and climate, as well as levels of knowledge and awareness, are important determinants with regards to whether employees seek professional help, and disclosure to employers.

Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS), which constitutes 57.8% (2.8 million members) of open medical scheme members in South Africa, revealed that in their scheme the prevalence of #MentalHealth conditions as a proportion of claims has increased from 11.3% in 2018 to 13.5% in 2022. Further, DHMS shared that as a proportion of medical scheme claims, the prevalence of the major psychiatric mental condition of depression increased from 6.3% in 2018 to 8.1% in 2022. It was further shared that depression as a major psychiatric diagnosis accounted for 60% of all claims with a psychiatric diagnosis, and it was mainly amongst young adult female members. So, the increasing prevalence of mental health conditions as seen by SADAG as reported above, is also being seen by the market leader in the medical scheme industry.

Discovery Life, which is a sister company to DHMS, also shared their current experiences regarding #MentalHealth trends on their life insurance business. They shared information that anxiety and depression, which are the most common major mental disorders/illnesses in South Africa can reduce longevity by as much as 7.9 years. They shared that in their environment, #MentalHealth impact is reflected in their claims experience on two levels, their Income Continuation Benefit for Temporary or Permanent Disability, as well as Death Claims due to suicide incidences.

With regards to suicide claims, they shared that these had increased by 13% in 2022 in comparison with 2019 to 2022 period, and 24% increase in comparison to the 2016 to 2018 period. Further, they shared that they had observed a 149% increase in suicide claims amongst the younger age groups under 30 years of age, when they compared the current year 2023 to similar period in 2019-2021. From a gender perspective, they revealed that suicide claims were 2.2 time more likely to be made for male members as opposed to female members, whilst for the Income Continuation Benefit, it was 1.8 times more likely to be made by female members than male members.

So, it should not be a surprise that South African workplaces are having a high prevalence of employees with #MentalHealth challenges, because they draw their staff complement from a South African society that is experiencing a significantly high prevalence (33% prevalence) of #MentalHealth conditions.

This high prevalence of #MentalHealth conditions amongst staff in South African workplaces, reveals itself with increasing trends of sick-related absenteeism (short and long), presenteeism, increasing frequency of injuries on duty, increasing staff conflicts, toxic management and leadership, disempowering toxic workplace climate, increasing turnover of staff moving away from toxicity, increasing rate of occupational temporary disability, and premature exits due to permanent occupational disability and deaths (suicides).

In her address at the #WorldMentalHealthDay event, Ms Chambers also shared the drivers of the increasing prevalence of #MentalHealth challenges, citing high levels of trauma, loss and grief, gender-based violence, crime, domestic abuse, divorce and separation, financial stressors, and day to day stressors. I would like to add long COVID (Post Covid Syndrome), a relatively new and still poorly understood clinical phenomenon, wherein those who contracted the COVID-19 disease (even those who had a mild illness) present with a wide variety of physical and mental health challenges, some of which are occupationally disabling. With regards to #MentalHealth, in the prestigious Lancet Psychiatry journal of April 2021, it was reported that at least a third of survivors of COVID-19 presented with a Major Neuro-Psychiatric diagnosis within six months of surviving the SARS-Cov-2 infectious disease.

So, managers and leaders of companies must identify #MentalHealth of employees as a major risk to the functioning and sustainability of their businesses, as such they MUST formulate effective forward-looking strategies, well-researched policies, and fund effective programmes to mitigate the negative impact of rising #MentalHealth prevalence in their workplaces. Lessons can be learnt from how in the early 2000s, companies effectively responded to the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Failure to plan and respond appropriately and effectively to this silent #MentalHealth epidemic will be tantamount to planning for failure to managing its downstream impact on the business operations, with disastrous results on the bottom line.

Dr Fundile Nyati is the Chairman and CEO at Proactive Health Solutions.

Springboks:
changing perceptions

The Springboks returned home having defended their Rugby World Cup title successfully. They are only the second team to do that and the first nation to win four World Cup titles. While the dust settles on that magnificent night in Paris and players start returning to their clubs, we look at how this feat was achieved with particular focus on the captain, the gladiator, Siya Kolisi, writes Ralph Staniforth

 The 2019 Rugby World Cup victory was huge for South Africa as it ignited a spirit among South Africans much like the 1995 and 2007 victorious Springboks did. But it would be tough to argue that the 2023 victory hit a different level of emotion in South Africa.

This could be seen in the weeklong Springbok roadshow following their victory over our rival All Blacks in Paris. No doubt battered and bruised, the Boks put on a show for the vast crowds across each city and township they entered.

Various heartwarming videos and images flooded the social media sites as South Africans got to say thank you to the Springboks, and yes, the Springboks got to say thank you for the incredible support it received throughout the tournament.

It is hard to explain how or why, but the 2023 victory certainly made a greater impact. Or perhaps it is not that hard to explain because the team, the coaches and the Springbok brand has bonded with the public like it never has before.

But we have to go back to 2018 when this bond really started to form. It was a slow start, subconsciously perhaps, but the moment Siyamthanda Kolisi was named as Springbok captain, bonds started to form. It was certainly not easy in the beginning; nothing ever is in South Africa.

South African rugby was in a dark space when Rassie Erasmus was announced as head coach of the Springboks in 2018. But Erasmus had been involved in SA Rugby for many years within provincial/franchise coaching roles as well as analyst for the Springboks in 2011.

However, perhaps Erasmus’ most important role up to that point was setting up the Elite Player Development (EPD) pathway which didn’t just focus on underprivileged players or areas, but it was a focal point. This is something he doesn’t get enough credit for.

Rassie, as he is affectionately known, is and always has been a man of action. If you have read his book, it is clear the struggles he fought as a youngster. He had a history, long before his role with the Springboks, of fighting against coaches who were anti-transformation.

Looking back now it is easy to see, but perhaps it was not as easy to see at the time. Rassie didn’t just change the fortunes of the team on the field, he changed perceptions of the entire brand of the Springboks.

There was no hesitation in his first interview when he made it clear that transformation would take place. It won’t need to be forced because there was more than enough talent within the setup for him to make it happen.

Rassie then went on to make Siya Kolisi captain of the Springboks. This struck a chord with many, not all of it a very good chord. As Rassie himself said, he lost friends who accused him of playing to his paymasters.

Wouldn’t we love to see the reactions of those people now? We now consider it a masterstroke by the former Cheetahs and Springbok flanker, but even Rassie didn’t know it would all work out quite so well in 2018.

The Springboks have always had the ability to unite the nation, it did this in 1995, 2007 and 2019. And again in 2023, but more importantly, this time a far more difficult thing was achieved —the change of perception.

Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, is not wrong when he says the Springbok was a symbol of apartheid. Rugby was seen as an Afrikaner sport, played by Afrikaners. At least at national level.

But the sport was always a big hit throughout the apartheid years in communities of the marginalised. All you have to do is speak to people from those communities and their rugby heroes from the 60s, 70s and 80s were not Springbok players, although more than good enough to have played on the international stage.

Yet, there is a difference. The Springbok emblem, name and brand can change meaning. It is a moving entity and with the rise of the last five years, the Springbok emblem is a great symbol of what South Africa can be.

It is a sign that things can change, that people can change, and can change their perception as long as that thing is representative of the people of South Africa. It is a message of hope that South Africa needs.

It brings us to the ‘Stronger Together’ slogan of the Springboks. It is no secret that Rassie and the rest of the coaching staff has tapped into each individual’s strength since taking over the reins of the green and gold. It can be seen throughout the documentary ‘Chasing the Sun’ that was made following the 2019 success in Japan.

There are emotional moments throughout, moments that brought tears to many eyes across South Africa and globally. We all got to see the hardships players faced, specifically those who made it against all the odds.

It is a uniquely South African tale, there are very few, if any tier one rugby nations that face half the challenges South Africans face on a daily basis.

Throughout the tenure of Rassie and now former Springbok coach, Jacques Nienaber, they have made it clear that the players play for South Africa, each and every citizen. They know that the team cannot bring about change to every South Africans life, or affect government policy, but they can represent the spirit of the nation and give them 80 minutes on a Saturday to enjoy…and a roadshow of epic proportions.

That brings us to the 2023 Rugby World Cup. How exactly did the Springboks win what was undoubtedly the toughest run anyone has ever had at the showpiece event? The Springboks can now also claim to be the greatest Rugby World Cup team of all time, having won four titles in their eight tournaments to date.

The World Cup draw was made three years in advance due to the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in a lobsided draw. It saw South Africa drawn alongside Ireland and Scotland, all three in the top five ranked sides in the game.

Getting out of the pool was already a tough ask but after the comfortable opening victory over Scotland, it was always in their hands. Despite suffering a five-point defeat to Ireland, the Springboks qualified in second place and had to face tournament favourites and hosts, France.

No matter what anyone says, this was always going to be the toughest game of the tournament. A raucous crowd packed the Stade de France with the vast majority supporting the hosts.

It turned out to be an incredible game, probably one of the best seen in the sport oveer the last 30 years. Handre Pollard, who didn’t make the squad initially, nailed the crucial penalty from inside his half to land a one-point victory.

That game took its toll on the Springboks, both physically and emotionally. It was clear the following week against England, who came into the tournament in horrid form but found a good level of performance during the tournament.

The English led from start to finish, well, not quite the finish, but for 78 minutes at least. The men in green and gold looked all but out of it, nine points down with less than a quarter of the game to go.

But as they have done so often, Siya’s men rose against adversity and scored a crucial try. It was followed by another last-gasp long-range penalty from Handre Pollard to seal another one-point victory.

Onto the final the Boks marched where they were to face archrivals, the All Blacks. This is perhaps the biggest game in Rugby Union, and it just happened to be a World Cup final as well.

Unlike previous games, the Springboks made a strong start to the game, dominating the opening 40 minutes, but they could only land four penalty kicks through Pollard. 12-6 at the break with the All Blacks down to 14 men after Sam Cane saw red.

Was the game in the bag? Many would have thought so, a strong performance in the opening stanza and now a man up for the next 40. But anyone who thought the All Blacks would lie down and just take the defeat on the chin, has not watched the All Blacks since the game turned professional.

Tactically New Zealand were superb in the second half, pressuring South Africa into uncharacteristic errors. It eventually led to New Zealand scoring the only try of the game, but crucially, Richie Mo’unga’s conversion sailed wide. 12-11 it remained.

Jordie Barrett then missed a long-range penalty which would have put the All Blacks into the lead, and even after missing, it looked like the Springboks were going to fold under the pressure. But they didn’t, they kept going, kept making big hits and coming up with big plays at crucial times. When Jasper Wiese picked the ball up from the back of an under-pressure scrum, he held on for dear life and it proved to be enough. Ball unplayable, game over!

The sound of Wayne Barnes’ final whistle sent South Africans into delirium. The rest of the squad stormed the pitch, Paris erupted, and every pub, household and mall across South Africa turned into a raucous celebration.

Almost immediately social media sites were flooded with videos people dancing the streets of various cities across the country. Singing the national anthem or some other rugby related song, it didn’t really matter, the Springboks had somehow managed to concur a run of games which for many would have seemed insurmountable.

Celebrations didn’t stop on Saturday night, they continued throughout Sunday when very sore heads were ignored to honour what the Springboks had done. Later the following week the side was welcomed by thousands of supporters at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. It was a welcome that brought Rassie Erasmus to tears – this is exactly what he wanted to achieve when he took the job in 2018.

It would be amiss of us to not go back to the World Cup though. We will shout from the rooftops that we are the best side in the world, and who can argue with us? But the Springboks were second best for much of the quarter and semi-final against France and England.

The Springboks were very good against France, let’s get that right straight right off the bat. But France is an exceptional team and properly pitched up on the night. But three one-point victories says something about what has been built in this Springboks squad.

We have a very diverse squad with players from very different walks of life. But for five years they have been learning about each other, the struggles each has faced in their career and bonds have been built. Bonds that will last long after retirement has come for these players.

That has allowed trust to build within the squad, which has been proven numerous times over the last two World Cup cycles. Rassie is big on the word ego, it is something he doesn’t allow within the squad, this is why he is meticulous with players he selects. The best (according to fans) is often not selected because the character of the player plays a bigger role than the talent at times. Understanding who you play for and what needs to be done within the Springbok setup is key to the coaching staff. And the players have taken that onboard.

In those tight knockout games, all this came to the fore. We were up against 80 000 French supporters in the quarter-final and still managed to score at the crucial times. Handre Pollard, who was not in the original squad and only joined one Malcolm Marx got injured kicked 11 out of 11 across his four games.

Manie Libbok played exceptionally well throughout the tournament, but his goal kicking was a cause for concern. Once the conditions didn’t favour him in the semi-final against England, Nienaber had little hesitation in replacing him well before half time. Pollard then started the final.

But, unless there is full trust within the squad and coaching staff, decisions like that can often cause huge discontent. Instead, in the Springbok setup, it is accepted that the best person for the job on a specific day is selected.

This trust has been earned by the coaches who have backed players and continued to give them opportunities. So much so that Pollard and Lukhanyo Am didn’t make the initial squad despite the coaches knowing they will both be fit during the knockout stage.

We can heap praise on the coaching staff, on Pollard for nailing all the crucial kicks and on every try-scorer during the tournament, but the glue that keeps this all together is Siya Kolisi.

From a captaincy point of view, Siya was raw in 2018. And he freely admits how much he leaned and continues to lean on other experienced players. Over five years he has however grown immensely as a leader, he is not simply a hero to South Africans, he is globally admired by his peers.

Every time Kolisi steps on the podium after a game he comes away with plaudits, whether the Springboks have won or lost. It is because he doesn’t lead with an ego, he leads with understanding, empathy and courage.

Kolisi understands his country, he knows what poverty is, he knows what it took him to get where he is today. He is so much more than the Springbok rugby captain; he is an idol, and an example of what South Africa can be.

Under Kolisi this Springbok side has become only the second team to defend their title and the first team to win four Rugby World Cup titles. While it is apt for this Springbok side to be remembered as among the best in the sport, Kolisi should be remembered as so much more.

From Zwide in the Eastern Cape, Kolisi has risen to be the greatest Springbok captain of all time. He, however, should be remembered as a man who transcends the sport of Rugby Union, and that would be the case even if he didn’t lift the William Webb Ellis trophy for a second time.

Ralph Staniforth is the Production Editor of Leadership Magazine

In a Killer’s Shadow

Leadership magazine reviews Emmaculate Cindi’s book, In a Killer’s Shadow

 The book provides a personal account of experiencing the entangled reality of life that is often too familiar for many South Africans, especially women.

The author brilliantly ties together a life that is filled with hardships, the majority of which are worsened by the shape of her upbringing.

The multi-layered book gives insight into the making of a strong, intellectually-gifted, confident woman who owns up to her every endeavour whether perceived as acceptable by society or not.

‘In A Killer’s Shadow’ is an account of a brave young woman who decides she is going to look for her father, only to find him in possibly the worst of places; incarcerated for murder and arson.

Emmaculate Cindi generously unpacks her journey of seeking to know and connect with a father who is in custody for committing a gruesome crime that has reached pandemic levels, in present day South Africa.

After approximately a decade of yearning and wondering, Cindi takes one step that would probably change her entire perspective on life, love, responsibility, and drive to achieve the most with her life.

Her first encounter with her father in prison is one of wonder, curiosity, and unconditional love. At an age when young people should be focusing on knowing themselves better, she gets to know her dad better behind bars.

A captivating story of a girl holding on to the hope of getting a call or letter from her father while in prison, the well-narrated story takes us through the process of that relationship maturing into a real father-daughter bond, with all its ups and downs.

True to every woman in this country, Cindi’s life is rich with survival of poverty, abuse, rejection, and, beyond all of that, resilience like a true South African woman. From glory to glory.

Each chapter offers a captivating tale of a young woman growing from strength to strength as she tells it. She covers woman issues, getting to know and appreciate herself in the nude, having to parent all her four children alone, and the societal attacks on her for having kids from different fathers even though she is not married.

She deals with rejection and lies from the father of one of her kids, the betrayal that almost caused her to take her own life multiple times, and how she then made a decision to pull herself together and take control of her emotions.

As if life would leave you alone after all that, Cindi confronts corporate wars for simply being herself. Beyond that, the honesty in the story keeps you glued to the book; the events make you wonder how she is still standing and gives the reader wings to carry on.

The book is about healing, letting go, accepting rejection, and ultimately creating a meaningful life despite life’s challenges.

Cindi’s penmanship is one of a kind, making it a difficult book to put down.

Emmaculate Cindi is the author of ‘In A Killer’s Shadow’.

The sad state of uThukela Municipality: one man’s mission to right the wrongs

Lebo Makhene-Pulumo provides an update on the uThukela Municipality under the leadership of Mayor Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala. Sadly, legacy problems continue to haunt the new administration...

One of the things that were achieved by the 2021 local government elections was the ushering in of new governments throughout KwaZulu-Natal and in other pockets of South Africa. The people marked their crosses next to the political party of their choice and made it possible for coalition governments to form and oust the ANC.

The election of Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala as the District Mayor of uThukela Municipality is a result of a coalition formed between the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), and they unfortunately inherited a broken municipality that has been eroded under the leadership of the ANC. It would be naïve of them if they did not anticipate the backlash from leaders of the previous administration, but I for one remain baffled at the accelerated pace at which this current 2021 administration is expected to turn around years of maladministration seemingly overnight.

uThukela District has three local municipalities and its people have been forced into a situation of existing within a district that is under administration due to rampant corruption and a total disregard for the people who are owed service delivery and a functioning state.

But what are the costs of a dysfunctional municipality and what price does the public pay for such? Cheap politicking and mudslinging will forever seek to provide a smoke screen so the public is not privy to the real issues. Blame shifting is the order of the day when it is apparent that the ANC has failed to hold its own members accountable, thus compromising service delivery and failing to deliver on many constitutional mandates, including the provision of water.

Today, the IFP is blamed for lack of service delivery whereas the previous administration has left insurmountable debt that negatively impacts the ability of the municipality to function optimally. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) was left with no option but to appoint an administrator to take over the running of the district. The municipal debt at the time stood at a staggering R816 million.

Just to illustrate the extent of the rot, this amount was accumulated between 2018-2021. A clear indication of an administration whose main objective was to loot for the last time and not render services to the people. Surely all this cannot continue to rest on the shoulders of the IFP, as they were not in control at the time yet find themselves in a situation where they have to contend with a non-existent budget.

An indicator of the elaborate plan to completely bankrupt the municipality post the ANC is the fact the municipality has 1 200 officials whose appointments can directly be linked to councillors. No doubt their loyalty lies solely with the individuals who provided a gateway into the municipality and not with the community in dire need of service. On election day and on the day of the inauguration, dozens of employees were hired and the mayor had to swiftly retrench them. The municipality was already under severe strain. The legacy of the previous administration is far reaching as some of the appointments included employees with five-year contracts, whilst others were employed permanently. An administrative and financial burden of epic proportions.

These dubious employments are the reason for the breech that has seen the municipal staff under the previous administration exceed the 40% threshold and instead sit at an unusually high 50%. This current administration has discovered ghost employees and has put an end to chronic absenteeism by municipal employees. Staff members are to be at work and performing duties that they are contractually obligated to perform and they will not be remunerated for failure to show up at work without prior arrangements in the form of leave applications or emergency reasons that are beyond their control. Not under the watch of the IFP. It is because of some of these tough stances that the IFP is under constant attack, but the mayor remains steadfast because restoring the district to a functional state will no doubt have positive spillover effects across the other local municipalities that constitute the district.

How can the district not be in a position where it contends with an unfunded budget when previously over a period of 2016-2021, 800 municipal employees consistently claimed for overtime every month? The focus has clearly been on draining funds through salaries instead of addressing service delivery concerns. Poor administration and failure to submit tenders timeously led to them being disqualified and National Treasury not releasing funds.

The current income of the municipality sits at R13 million, whilst expenditure is at R816 million, and the situation created by the ANC will take approximately 10 years to correct. Despite numerous insinuations and blame shifting exercises, these challenges were not caused by the IFP and the impacts being felt now are a direct result of the previous administration. Even with grant applications to assist with projects that will be beneficial to the community, ratifying the financial conditions of uThukela will take a decade.

Part of the reason for the enormous debt can be attributed to water tankers and rentals. There is a water challenge in the district, thus creating a heavy reliance on water tankers as a temporary measure. However, new trucks have not been purchased and the district has to contend with utilising trucks that are as old as our democracy. This results in constant breakdowns that cannot be funded by the minuscule budget.

Long-standing contracts where signed with service providers who are to date failing to transport water to the community. Some of these service providers are owed since 2016, 2017, and 2018, and they are looking to this current administration to settle their invoices. A near impossible task given the budget constraints and the fact that the municipality has been under section 139 since 2017. However, the community needs water and the district has subsequently had to hire other trucks to deliver water, this is often done at the expense of the mayor. He along with the speaker and municipal manager have resorted to funding some operations using their own funds because the municipality is bankrupt.

uThukela District presently needs R32 million to buy new water tankers. This would not be the case if vehicles were maintained accordingly, depreciated, and replaced consequently. The sale of assets is a form of income generation for the municipality but if there is no clear vision and no punitive measures for the horrendous misuse of government funds, vehicle are sacrificed and funds siphoned. Debt will therefore continue to rollover much to the despair of IFP administration that is working tirelessly to rectify the situation. The cost of this is detrimental, hence the mayor’s office providing water and paying for it out of pocket.

The pipes in the district are from the 1950s and they have never been replaced and the old administration are sending people to sabotage the new administration by deliberately causing pipe bursts and blockages.

But what is the real cost of service delivery failure and it being inherited by a new administration? When seasonal rains comes, one can almost always expect that uThukela will become a victim of flooding, because infrastructure maintenance under the leadership of the ANC was non existent. Yet employees earn salaries in the range of R30 000 and with the addition of overtime claims, salaries escalate to tune of R60 000. Yet it doesn’t translate to work and that is why the mayor has had to halt overtime and subsequently appoint an investigator to check the functioning of the pipes for service providers claiming overtime. Overtime must translate into service delivery outputs that are tangible and not manufactured. This has not been the case in uThukela and has required some tough and unpopular decisions to be made.

A faster turnaround time has been introduced for attending to sewer-related queries. It has been discovered that infrastructure was deliberately vandalised by people who were paid by unscrupulous enemies of public progress, to place foreign objects such as rocks and sand to block the system. This led to appointed service providers charging exorbitant fees and taking months to fix something that can easily be fixed in 30 minutes. Under the administration of the IFP, this has been corrected, but due to the prolonged period of overcharging and underperforming, the municipality currently owes service providers over R4 million. It is inherited debt due to corruption, but it hampers the ability to pay current service providers and ultimately creates an impression that the IFP is not doing enough, which is a fallacy that requires constant correction.

It is such acts of fighting for service delivery and advocating for the community that have shone a negative light on the mayor. People had become accustomed to mediocrity and unduly benefiting from state coffers that they are now willing to do anything to retain that power, even to the detriment of infrastructure and lives. Fundraising efforts have also been compromised as the provincial government has interfered and accused the mayor of corruption. Befitting seeing as they are unaccustomed to hard-working, solution-driven individuals. This is why Disaster Management efforts have been completely ignored because the ANC is not interested in solutions that do not result in lining their pockets.

Getting things done in uThukela remains a challenge, yet the current administration remains steadfast and focused amid the death threats and the dangerous political terrain of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The IFP have had to contend with death threats that have been reported to the police, with cases being opened and investigated. Unfortunately, members have been killed and many of the perpetrators are still evading the police. The staff at the mayor’s office has also fallen victim to death, which is an indication that anything and anyone associated with progress is not safe.

With unemployment being at an all-time high, the district requires industries to provide services and employment, however, that is proving difficult as Transnet relocated from Ladysmith (under uThukela District Municipality) to Newcastle (under Amajuba District Municipality). The move would not have been necessary had the municipality performed optimally and not frustrated residents, businesses, and state-owned enterprises. The relocation of such a vital entity steers jobs away from the district, thus making the fight against poverty alleviation and unemployment a tough one.

Since assuming office, the mayor of uThukela has embarked on a concise but dangerous journey to turn things around. It has not been without insurmountable challenges, but his fortitude will be beneficial to the community that he serves. The halting of fleet maintenance that used to cost the municipality R5.6 million monthly but failed to translate to service delivery was a brave decision. Interfering with inflated costs that are a direct link to corrupt activities are a death wish, yet the mayor forges ahead for the benefit of the residents.

Whilst successfully curbing costs in this regard, there are other elaborate schemes that continue to haunt this new administration such as the failure to award a R40 million tender where four service providers were initially selected.

It took eight weeks to start the process afresh and there was a further delay that needed ratification, thus National Treasury took the money back. This is yet another case of compromising service delivery in favour of corruption. The far reaching implications haunt the new administration and unfortunately for the residents, it means they remain without much-needed services.

The journey of taking over a municipality that has been crippled by maladministration is one riddled with thorns, but it requires a strong leader such as Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala to usher in change and restore the dignity of public service. He is a man that will not remain silent, even though silence ensures his safety, as Abraham Lincoln said, “To sin by silence when they should protest, makes cowards of men.” The IFP administration in uThukela District is one constituted by brave men and women who are committed to changing the lives of people.

Lebo Makhene-Pulumo is the part-time Senior Managing Director at Letoya Makhene Foundation, as well as a ghost writer, editor, and consultant.

Mayor Ndabezitha Prince Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala

Ntandoyenkosi Bisset Shabalala qualified as a teacher in 1995 and was appointed as iNkosi of the Shabalala Clan in Ladysmith from 1997 to date.

In 2002, he was appointed as the school principal of Mahlanganyelwa Combined School until February 2009.

In late February 2009, he became a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature until May 2014.

As an iNkosi, he was elected as the Chairperson of the uThukela house of traditional leaders from 2006 to 2011.

In 2007, he was elected as a member of the executive committee of the provincial house of traditional leaders.

He is now serving in the uThukela local house of traditional leaders as an ordinary member.

In 2021, following the Local Government Elections, he was elected as the Mayor of uThukela District Municipality and is currently serving as a Mayor of the District.

Traditional medicine is reclaiming its place on earth

The traditional wisdom that has been passed from generation to generation will be the key to traditional medicine’s resurrection. Joe Makhafola sat with a practicing herbalist, Prudence Gotlhaloganyamang Matome (32), to get to the root of it...

 The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on African governments to accord formal recognition to traditional medicine, create an enabling environment for its practice, and integrate the time-honoured system of medicine into their national health systems.

The call was made by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim M. Samba, in a message on the occasion of the first African Traditional Medicine Day on August 31.

Dr Samba noted that for centuries, traditional medicine played a crucial role in combating multiple and complex conditions affecting Africans, and that because of its popularity, accessibility, and affordability, more than 80% of the people in the region continued to rely on it for their healthcare needs.

At a very young age, Prudence was far ahead of her time. Growing up with her grandmother, she always went to the fields to collect firewood, and she would always teach her different types of herbs and what they were used for. Little did she know that her lifetime educational legacy had begun.

Her late grandmother, Pherefere Esther Mmape Matome, who passed away in 2006, taught her a lot about indigenous herbs while she was still young.

“Growing up, we have always used indigenous medicine that our forefathers used to dig them up for us, and those herbs (mesunkwana) helped us and made us grow without any complications,” she says.

“I now sell different types of herbs, including homemade salts, which offer protection, aura cleansing, and others, depending on the challenges of your life.”

A public relations graduate born on the dusty streets of Chaneng Village of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, she is taking her calculated chances on the global market for traditional therapies that stood at more than $60 billion in 2000 and is steadily growing. She juggles between work and her calling as she works in the mining industry from 6am until the afternoon. The remainder of the time, her side traditional hustle is now becoming her mainstay, where she and her business partner, Bridget Raphata, can package and deliver products to clients.

“I have a client base of between 20 and 45 years old, but mostly young people come across life challenges that force them to consider the traditional route of cleansing their aura, like spiritual ties, bad luck, curses, protecting themselves from enemies, and attracting money. Life is difficult because we live in a world of evil and jealousy; it’s no longer safe,” she says.

From the onset, it’s been a hard sell with this sophisticated and modern generation, but pandemics like HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 have reminded us that traditional food can be the best cure for illnesses.

Prudence started smelling the coffee when her late grandmother was ill and subsequently passed away. “She started having health complications, and years later, I dreamt of her saying, ‘I have taught you a lot; just look around you and connect with nature; that’s where you will get a cure to help heal the sick’. It made me realise that she has left me with a lifetime inheritance that no one can take away from me and how blessed I am,” she says.

According to the World Health Organization, traditional medicine has a long history. It is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness.

Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products that contain active ingredients, parts of plants, or other plant materials or combinations.

Going back to the basics

So where did we go wrong?

“We have lost our culture due to Western culture and market penetration. We lost our roots the minute we started subscribing to Western culture. As for modernity, it’s a way of making money, and the amount of money invested by pharmaceutical companies in marketing their products is unmatched. Marketing made modern medicine popular, and while most of their products are mixed with our indigenous herbs, that’s why their business has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s a booming business industry,” she says.

“We need to come together as traditional leaders in partnership with government to protect our nature, and our indigenous knowledge that we were taught by our forefathers passes on from generation to generation. I believe if we do and market or teach our children our roots, we can make it, which will make African medicine claim its place in history.”

The marketing of pharmaceuticals has created the impression that their products are superior and second-best to none.

Policy and regulation

South Africa is in the process of institutionalising the African traditional medicine in healthcare. The draft policy on traditional medicine is about to be finalised, marking an important epoch in the history of South Africa.

In February 2023, the Department of Health held a summit to further consult and make recommendations on the policy, among others, to establish the council that will regulate and formalise the sector, similar to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for medical doctors, that overseas code of conduct and ethics, as well as the Office of the Registrar, to license traditional healers.

“Remember, the quality of healthcare is available to all citizens for free, but on this one, it’s a choice. Not everyone believes in traditional herbs, and I normally require people who don’t have money to try some of my products for free. Once it helps, some come back to thank me, but others don’t. Normally we don’t require money, as our forefathers used to heal people without paying, but instead show a token of appreciation with a form of gift, sometimes money,” she says.

Hygiene

The safety, efficacy, and quality of the products of traditional medicine practice will always be a concern to the general public. Many herbal medicines are naturally strong and don’t have a dosage.

“I highly recommend following the instructions given by the herbalist; we know that the stronger the herb, some of the herbs are boiled and some are chewed, which contributes to the purity of the herbs,” she says.

On stigmatisation due to poor perceptions and attitudes, she says not everyone believes in traditional medicine, and many have attitudes towards it because of the spiritual connotations that have brainwashed many people because of the different churches they go to. Many believe that traditional herbs are only based on witchcraft, not knowing how powerful they are when it comes to our health and protection.

Environmental dynamics

The development and utility of traditional medicine remain low on account of the many challenges it faces. Problems related to regulation, low appreciation and acceptance, and plummeting plant resources are some of the impediments to the development of traditional medicine.

“The dispossession of land by settlers from African people compounds matters to be worse. You need land to plough these herbs. When the drafters of the Constitution accepted the status quo at the multi-party Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) negotiations on the question of land, they did a disservice to their people,” she says.

“The African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party (NP) were running the show. When the Pan African Congress (PAC) launched the slogan, ‘the land first, all shall follow’, they were made to eat a humble pie. It sounded a bit crazy at the time, but look where we are now. Going nowhere slowly.”

Prudence is of the view that there is a political solution to the problem. “This is where the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) come in on the land question. We need land so that it can be easier to access plants and trees and also farm our own herbs, which will benefit all of us. Most of our indigenous herbs have disappeared and burned due to not having access to the land for plantations,” she says.

Will government hospitals, clinics, and medical doctors be prescribing traditional medicine? Will the pharmaceuticals be putting up a fight to retain the market and, or, quickly “steal” the African intellectual property so long and trademark it? Is the level of thinking among the sangomas hovering at this level?

Joe Makhafola is a marketing and communications executive and former spokesperson for the Minister of Communications.

Industry leaders unpack their thoughts on mental health in the workplace

As we conclude Mental Health Awareness Month in South Africa, industry leaders unpack their thoughts on mental health in the workplace...

It’s no secret that constant workplace stress can be a severe issue, which can lead to poor employee morale or mental health. The third annual Mental State of the World report by Sapien Labs assessed the well-being of nearly 500 000 people across 64 countries. Amongst the countries studied, South Africans were ranked with the highest percentage (35.8%) of the population who were distressed or struggling with their mental health.

As we near the end of year, which can typically be a stressful period in the workplace, and the conclusion of Mental Health Awareness Month in South Africa, it’s the perfect time for company leaders to assess how they can foster a better work environment and support staff well-being. There are various tangible ways to improve employee well-being, and in the article below industry leaders unpack their suggestions.

Creating safe work environments

It’s encouraging that mental health appears to finally be getting the attention it deserves, particularly by employers across various sectors. However, according to SADAG, one in six people in the working population are affected by anxiety and depression every year, yet two out of three of those struggling won’t disclose this.

“It’s good that more companies are offering their employees mental health support in the form of benefits and programmes, such as additional leave days and free counselling sessions. But we need to ensure that we’re also creating an environment—and indeed a culture—of wellness and well-being. On a practical level, this means creating work spaces where people feel safe, where they are treated fairly and with respect, where a level of job security can be expected and where there is a guarantee that issues—specifically pertaining to mental health—will be treated with the necessary discretion and empathy,” says Linda Saunders, Director Solution Engineering at Salesforce.

Offer support to staff and lead by example

In the hospitality industry and travel sector, most employees have roles that are customer-facing. These can be very stressful at times in terms of factors like handling multiple customer needs at once and working seamlessly across different departments to meet customer requirements. To ensure their teams are equipped to handle the daily stressors of their jobs, the Radisson Hotel Group has implemented dedicated well-being support for staff.

“We know that a hotel cannot be defined by its physical building or location alone. It’s our team members, who deliver world-class service and breathe life into each guest experience, that make our hotels more than just brick and mortar, so looking after their well-being is key,” says Tim Cordon, COO of the Middle East and Africa for Radisson Hotel Group.

“To help people find fulfillment in growing their careers, we’ve implemented Radisson Academy Certifications, which helps teams upskill on functional and strategic capabilities that can accelerate their careers. We believe that it’s imperative to the success of our business to have opportunities like these in place to provide support where needed. We also ensure that our teams know they can reach out if any other support is needed.

“Furthermore, it’s paramount in any industry for business leaders to lead by example. I encourage people to cultivate passions outside of their careers that will impact their well-being positively. For me that is about staying consistent with road cycling, which allows me to disconnect from work, get some exercise in, and be present in the moment of enjoying the scenery of the ride route.”

The power of nature in rejuvenating teams

It takes approximately 120 minutes of weekly exposure to natural settings, such as woodlands or coastlines, to boost well-being and a healthier mindset. A 2019 study of 20 000 people by the European Centre for Environment & Human Health at the University of Exeter, revealed that the two hours of time spent in nature could be spread out over the course of a week or done in one go. Being immersed in nature within urban spaces is just one way to achieve benefits; companies can reinvigorate teams through team building, think tanks, and conferences in more tranquil environments.

“In today’s fast-paced corporate culture, we are seeing a growing trend of executives and corporate teams wanting to explore company getaways in relaxing wild terrains, such as the Kruger National Park. The world-famous beauty of the park provides teams with a serene backdrop to take a break from the traditional confines of inner-city work conferences and events. This awe-inspiring untouched landscape inspires innovative conversation, encourages adventure, fosters a deeper sense of team unity and provides a one-of-a-kind environment for team-building activities,” explains Anton Gillis, CEO at Kruger Gate Hotel.

Technology innovation in aiding mental support

Over the last few years, VR technologies have been making significant inroads into the health and well-being space to enhance health training and patient care, and of course, to support mental health. Sea Monster Entertainment has seen first-hand how these incredible VR innovations can create powerful tools to effectively address issues like stress in the workplace and PTSD as they have delivered their own VR solution in this space in collaboration with Maestro games.

“The level of sensory immersion that VR offers is truly unmatched by any other technology that we have at our disposal, so there is no doubt that we will see a great deal more innovation in VR over the next few years as its potential is currently far from fully realised.

“While it is absolutely essential to explore the opportunities presented by VR to effectively intervene in the health sector to aid matters relating to health and mental health, it’s equally vital to consider more accessible and scalable solutions that can reach a broader audience. Mobile solutions offer an avenue to achieve this which would ensure that the benefits of mental health support are accessible to everyone, regardless of their geographical location or their level of access to specialised equipment,” says Dr Amy Duncan, Sea Monster Entertainment’s Sales Manager.

Foster productivity boosting that aids stress relief

Working more efficiently using tech can help relieve workers of the mental load caused as a result of weekly deadlines and tasks. These tools could include productivity boosters such as weekly planners, grammar or writing tools, and workplace software. Some employers even believe that using technology to monitor employee productivity can aid in getting more work done.

But Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager—Africa, of workplace software firm Zoho warns that “while the rise of employee monitoring software is understandable, particularly in a post-pandemic world where remote and hybrid working have become the norm, all too often they monitor the wrong things. Good task management software, for instance, will easily allow you to manage and track the life cycle of whatever projects you’re working on. Even better ones won’t just monitor performance against set tasks but will also make it easier for employees to be productive by converting emails into tasks, for instance.”

What’s important is that any productivity tools used allow employers to filter out employees who are overburdened and distribute work evenly and also keep track of important key performance indicators (KPIs) to reduce stress, relieve mental loads, and boost performance.

People‑planet‑profit balance

Siphokazi Kayana and Nomfundo Mkatshwa-Jackson take a look at the important lessons for South Africa on ESG Litigation from a global perspective

It has become necessary for companies to prioritise sustainability amidst the threat of climate change. Countries have thus sought to develop regulations in various fields including environmental footprint (i.e. emissions reduction), market/product communication, and financial reporting for companies. Partly as a result of those regulations, companies are increasingly being held legally accountable from different angles in respect of their responsibility and role in climate change—ESG Litigation.

In its current form, ESG Litigation focuses mainly on larger companies with a wide-reaching footprint. Companies are often publicly held accountable through various media channels and campaigns. It is not just environmental organisations that are taking action as consumers, investors, shareholders, and local communities are increasingly vocal about the need to take action. The primary goal of ESG Litigation is therefore to bring about behavioural change in companies.

International studies show that the number of climate cases are rapidly increasing. Climate litigation has doubled globally since 2015, bringing the total number of climate lawsuits to some 2 000—25% of which have been initiated in the period of 2020-2022.

Here are some of the key trends we’re observing with regard to the different angles of ESG Litigation:

Infringement of national and international climate law

An important ground for taking civil action against companies is on grounds of an unlawful act. On this ground, the unwritten standards of care are worked out in further detail based on soft law from international conventions including the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the European Convention on Human Rights, standards (UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises), and the facts ensuing from investigative reports.

There is no international binding convention on business and human rights. In Europe, however, a great deal of ESG legislation is under preparation, including the Proposal of the European Commission of 23 February 2022 for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. The legislative process is expected to take a while longer, as such, a final directive is not likely to enter into force until 2025 or 2026. The obligations to be embedded in this directive are, however, already largely part of existing soft law standards ensuing from previous international conventions.

Conversely, the regulations formulated by intergovernmental organisations are predominantly integrated into domestic laws, thereby heightening the potential for sanctions and legal disputes. The integration of such international regulations into national legislation holds significant importance, particularly for jurisdictions outside of the European Union, as it directly shapes the trends observed in ESG Litigation.

Greenwashing: Misleading market communication and financial information

The greening trend also entails the inevitable risk that companies advertise financial instruments and products as greener and more sustainable than they really are. Companies must be aware of the risk of providing misleading market communication and financial information, also known as ‘greenwashing’.

Greenwashing can be divided into several categories:

• • Market and product information for consumers;
  
• • Information for the investing public about ESG risk control; and
  
• • Financial annual reporting.
  

Misleading product information may constitute a wrongful act

The CSRD Directive requires large companies to report on issues such as carbon emissions and social capital, but also about the impact that a company has on biodiversity and human rights violations in the supply chain.

Liability of the company for pollution of, and damage to, the direct environment

In the context of ESG Litigation, companies may, of course, also be held accountable by local communities for polluting, or causing damage to, the direct environment. This can be done through a class action. Such claims will be based on wrongful acts in combination with environmental legislation.

Shareholders’ actions at (listed) companies in order to influence the strategy

Studies show that shareholders are increasingly exercising their shareholders’ rights for ESG purposes to force the board of directors to take action, for example, their right to place items on the agenda, their right to speak or to vote on the appointment or dismissal of directors or their remuneration policy.

An example is the British investor Aviva Investors which, in January 2022, notified the boards of 1 500 companies in which it invests, spread over 30 countries, that it will base the remuneration and the retention of directors depending, in part, on their efforts in fighting the climate crisis and protecting human rights and biodiversity.

Personal liability of directors

A further trend that we see at an international level is that, in addition to holding the company liable as a means to exert pressure, the board of directors of a company is also held personally liable for compliance with the company’s ESG obligations. This relates to (i) personal involvement/negligence in violated standards; and (ii) improper climate change policy. In the spring of 2022, in the United Kingdom, the board of directors of a multinational company was held personally liable in civil proceedings for failing to pursue a proper climate policy with a view to achieving energy transition.

The need for action to protect our planet has prompted intergovernmental organisations and lawmakers to establish clearer standards determining the extent to which businesses can impact the environment while pursuing their operations. We are now aware that we stand at a crucial point in history, necessitating the implementation of rules that uphold the values of people, the planet, and profit in equal measure.

Siphokazi Kayana is the Head of Dispute Resolution and Nomfundo Mkatshwa-Jackson is the Senior Associate at international law firm CMS South Africa.

Road towards recovering the state funds and preventing further losses

Adv. Andy Mothibi gives us an update on the work of the Special Investigating Unit and details projects they are currently working on

 The fight against corruption is a challenging and complex task, and sometimes a dangerous one. But as the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), we are equal to the task given, and we have evidence to prove it. We recently presented our 2022/2023 financial year Annual Report to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, where this evidence lives.

The powers of the SIU are primarily seen in two folds: the first being investigation and the second is civil litigation to correct wrongdoing uncovered during investigation and to recover proceeds of corruption.

Our investigations are empowered by the President signing proclamations. On average, we have seen an 84% increase in proclamations over the last five years. Although authorised by the President, the allegations that the SIU used to motivate for proclamations are reported to the unit by the public. By the end of the 2022/2023 Financial Year (FY), the SIU received 1 717 allegations of corruption compared to 1 384 the previous FY, equaling a 24% increase. This is a clear indication of the public’s confidence in the SIU, as the guardian of the public purse, and faith in our skills as a law enforcement agency. We don’t take this lightly, which is why, in our five-year strategy, we have committed ourselves to completing investigations within 18 months from the day the proclamation is gazetted.

The President signed 17 proclamations in the past financial year. The SIU has submitted 21 investigation reports to the Presidency. One of the submitted reports is an interim report on an investigation into the affairs of the University of Fort Hare on allegations of maladministration in the awarding of honours degrees, mismanagement of funds, and sourcing of public servants for study into various faculty programmes by an individual for personal gain.

Our investigation outcomes determine our decision to pursue civil litigation, which, in instances when we succeed, leads to recovering the losses the state has suffered. In the 2022/23 FY, the SIU recovered over R389 million—money that goes back to the fiscus for service delivery. While ensuring that irregular contracts are set aside or deemed invalid. During this period, R300 million worth of contracts or administrative decisions were set aside or deemed invalid.

The establishment of the Special Tribunal has helped speed up the SIU’s civil litigation cases to reach a legal conclusion. However, its powers and jurisdiction had to stand the test of the Constitutional Court by an appeal brought forward by Ledla Structural Development (Pty) Ltd (Ledla), Rhulani Lehong, Kgodisho Norman Lehong, and other individuals and entities.

The Special Tribunal was set up in 2019 to adjudicate on matters arising from SIU investigations. Its existence is provided for in the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996. As a dedicated tribunal, it meant that the SIU could speedily have its matters finalised and recover financial losses suffered by the state before it is dissipated.

On 10 March 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Special Tribunal is not a court. However, it still holds the jurisdiction and powers to adjudicate reviews brought by the SIU and to grant orders setting aside unlawful procurement contracts awarded by state institutions. For the SIU, this judgment means that we can continue to take swift action in civil litigation and apply for preservation orders that can contribute towards recovering the loss of the state. We find strength in the Constitutional Court ruling as it gives absolute certainty on the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal to adjudicate any civil proceedings brought by the SIU. In this past financial year, the SIU has enrolled 35 cases in the Special Tribunal to the value of R2.4 billion.

While fighting corruption plays a central role in what we do, it is fundamental that we move towards creating prevention measures. Our focus should not only be on recovering money that the state has lost, but also on preventing the state purse from bleeding funds through corruption. In the 2022/23 FY, the SIU has saved the state R2.167 billion. This is potential money that the state could have lost to corruption.

As we move towards strengthening our corruption prevention mechanisms, the systematic weaknesses that our investigations find must be addressed so that corruption is prevented and nibbed in the bud. Pillar Six of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy seeks to “improve adherence to integrity management and anti-corruption mechanisms and improve consequence management for non-compliance of these across government, business and civil society sectors and protecting corruption vulnerable sectors”. This pillar is critical for the work of the SIU.

Rooting out people who acted against their duty and contributed towards corruption, maladministration, and malfeasance is an integral part of restoration. A total of 67 087 referrals were made for administrative action, including cancellation of fraudulently/corruptly acquired drivers’ licences, to regulatory bodies while referring 376 officials and executives for disciplinary action.

Working with other law enforcement agencies

Combating corruption cannot be a solo exhibition of a law enforcement agency, it is a deliberate and consented effort by law enforcement agencies. The Fusion Centre that was kicked off by COVID-19-related investigations is evidence of the outstanding achievements we can achieve as law enforcement agencies through collaboration and sharing of resources. The SIU is committed to working with our law enforcement peers, especially when our powers are limited. In line with the SIU Act, the SIU refers the evidence pointing to criminal conduct to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action.

The 2022/23 FY saw the SIU make 680 referrals to the NPA. We have also worked with the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit for preservation and forfeiture orders.

For the full completion of the wheel of justice and to ensure that the SIU’s referrals have been followed through, we entered into a memorandum of understanding with the NPA and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks). The SIU will continue working closely with the Hawks and NPA to close the taps of corruption.

Strategic approach to combatting corruption

We are less than seven years from meeting our National Anti-Corruption Strategy targets. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy’s Pillar Nine calls for the focus of programmes to reduce corruption and improve integrity in sectors, particularly those vulnerable to corruption.

To fulfill this mandate, the SIU forms part of the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum (HSACF), which was established following the Presidential Health Summit in 2018, and it comprises of various stakeholders such as civil society, law enforcement agencies, health sector regulators, government departments, and the private sector. President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the HSACF in October 2019. The results from this sector approach speak for itself. The SIU has instituted over R1.6 billion worth of civil action matters in the High Court and the Special Tribunal relating to the health sector. The value includes approximately R500 million, which is linked to an investigation into the affairs of the Office of the State Attorney on medical negligence claims and legal service claims.

The SIU is investigating 18 legal practitioners who assisted the Office of the State Attorney in rendering legal services regarding medical negligence claims on the Gauteng Department of Health and the Eastern Cape Department of Health.

Since its inception in 2019, 29 allegations of corruption referred to the HSACF resulted in formal investigations. The HSACF investigations have received a report of over 100 officials being referred for disciplinary action, including high-level officials such as a former Head of Department in the North West Province, who was fired and had his pension frozen. The forum has made over 30 referrals to the NPA for further action.

In 2021, the SIU expanded this model of combating corruption together with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and established the Infrastructure Built Anti-Corruption Forum. The SIU has conducted Lifestyle Audits in the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for all senior management. The department is currently implementing consequence management as per the outcomes of the lifestyle audits conducted. Between March 2022 and April 2023, the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister officially launched the Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum under the chairpersonship of the SIU.

The sector approach is part of the collaborative effort between civil society, the private sector, and the public sector, coined as the “whole-of-society” approach. For South Africa to reach its vision for a corruption-free country as envisaged by the National Development Plan, it needs the backing of the whole of society.

Collaborating and upskilling investigators

In the age of technology, cybercrimes are rife. As a law enforcement agency, it’s imperative to have the right skills to combat cybercrimes. The SIU has an in-house cyber forensic team, but we need to increase our capacity in this regard. To do this, we have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the French government to develop digital investigation tools, digital forensic investigations and analysis, and cloud and high-performance computing to prevent cybercrimes. This will not only help in fighting corruption but help in preventing or dictating it early through the use of data analytics.

The 2022/23 FY also saw the SIU launch its new logo and payoff line, moving from “Poised to Strike Against Corruption” to “Striking Against Corruption”. Our performance over the years has shown us that we are no longer poised but, in fact, striking against corruption. This new leaf has re-energised us in fulfilling our mandate. We will continue to strike against corruption, fraud, maladministration, and malfeasance as we pursue our vision of being the state’s preferred and trusted anti-corruption, forensic investigation, and litigation agency.

Adv. Andy Mothibi is the Chief Executive and Head of the Special Investigating Unit