Bank+on+patronage,+not+principle,+Karima+Brown,+Business+Day

Business Day, Johannesburg, 06 February 2007
=Bank on patronage, not principle, to tip the scales=


 * Karima Brown**

IN THE few days left before President Thabo Mbeki delivers his much-anticipated state of the nation address to Parliament, there will no doubt be much indirect pressure applied to get him to commit to doing something more to combat crime — as First National Bank (FNB) attempted to do with its aborted letter-writing campaign.

No doubt, many more centimetres of newspaper column space will be dedicated to various opinions on the matter this week.

Opinion on the fall-out between Mbeki and the executives at FNB has been varied. Some commentators mistakenly believe the fracas served to seal our fate as a society in decline. This perception gains currency when government spin doctors say it is unacceptable for a bank to behave as an opposition party and get involved in actions that could bring down the government. Themba Maseko’s ill-considered outburst following reports of government’s outright bullying of FNB — after government had been tipped off by “patriotic businessmen” — only underscored the perception that government brooks no dissent. Who in their right mind believes that a bunch of letter-writers will topple a democratically elected government?

When Mbeki talks about crime statistics and the decline in certain categories of crime, he wants to engage in a debate with a nation that feels it is under siege. The president would do well to note that, in order for him to be understood, he needs to listen first.

Moreover, government’s attitude towards FNB smacks of double standards. Just a few weeks ago, the African National Congress (ANC) called on civil society to stop complaining about crime and to do something about it. The ANC announced that it was going to involve its grassroots structures to help fight crime. Obviously the ANC does not regard FNB branches as part of grassroots structures. My point, however, is that there is clearly a role for everyone to play in this battle, but with an important caveat: play by our rules (read ANC/government) or shut up. Government’s approach on crime is reminiscent of Mbeki’s attitude when he stalled the report on SA’s peer review to the African Union. Civil society is welcome to get involved — but only on Mbeki’s terms.

I accept the point that FNB is not a political party, but surely as an important business player it has the right to engage in lawful actions, including getting South Africans to write letters to Mbeki about the rising crime levels — even if it will embarrass the president. After all, some among us do believe that SA is a democracy.

But in an attempt to understand government’s panicked reaction to FNB’s planned campaign against crime, we should not make the mistake of confusing the issues.

One editor said he was now more inclined to believe that those who have warned about the “Zanufication” of SA may not be “far off the mark”. Given Mbeki’s shoddy handling of the crime issue, and his denialist attitude, many people might nod their heads in silent agreement with this argument.

But to argue that the muzzling of FNB executives constitutes the “Zanufication” of society is also not accurate. South Africans march, protest, in some cases burn T-shirts bearing Mbeki’s face, and boo him at mass gatherings to their hearts’ content. Sure, some ANC flunkies want to take action against unruly elements in the crowds but no one has been put in jail for expressing their dislike of the president.

Mbeki locks horns with his opponents through his poison pen Friday letters, he resorts to name calling and hurls insults at his political opponents. But we are all free to whinge and bicker. Clearly the democratic space is not only there, but it is widening.

This is not to say that the president does not like to be all powerful. He appoints premiers, executive mayors, directors-general and extends the protection of his office to police commissioner Jackie Selebi, even when the latter admits to consorting with alleged mafia types.

Far from closing down democratic space, what Mbeki and his acolytes did in the case of FNB is quite clear. Mbeki did what governments the world over do. It threatened to withhold and perhaps withdraw financial and economic largesse — and the rest, as they say, is history. The bank’s executives folded like a house of cards.

The sordid details of the arms deal scandal illuminate just how senior old- order business executives wined and dined their former enemies and how liberation fighters such as the late Joe Modise put aside their animosity when dealing with the “enemy”. Patronage, rather than principle, tips the scales.

Given how sections of business used patronage to woo the ANC in the heyday of the transition, I am amazed that FNB thought it would not come up against resistance.


 * Brown is political editor.


 * From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A376924**

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