‘Political stability a core pillar of the South African economy’

The President of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United States has expressed grave concern regarding the findings of the Section 89 Panel.

The independent expert panel was tasked with establishing whether President Cyril Ramaphosa had a case to answer regarding the theft of millions of US dollars in cash from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in 2020.

The Chamber’s Neil Diamond warned that political stability was a core pillar of the South African economy and that a possible resignation by Ramaphosa would have devastating implications.

“The President’s resignation or possible resignation following these actions would definitely have a devastating impact on our economy. And equally, it would send the rand in a downward spiral. There is no scenario where in the present resignation could have any positive impact for South Africa or for our economy. It could definitely destroy investor confidence and adversely affect foreign direct investment. We are gravely concerned about the impact this has in a looming global recession, given the fact that South Africa has just emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic. We compete in a peer group of countries in the emerging economies, and this will put South Africa at the back of the pack when investors look at our country. This could only be bad for South Africa.”

Rand affected

The Phala Phala matter and the President has already affected the rand, with the local currency losing ground to the US dollar.

Economic and political analyst Khaya Sithole says, “The key issue here is even those traders, those speculators, who are actively investing in the South African market, who are actively trading on the local currency, they cannot discount the political trajectory of the country.”

Sithole elaborates in the interview below:

Ramaphosa consulting stakeholders

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says President Cyril Ramaphosa is consulting key stakeholders over the recommendations of the Section 89 Panel report.

The President was expected to address South Africans on the issue. Magwenya says however that this is not a process that can be conducted in haste.

” We appreciate and understand as to how an expectation and address to the nation will rise because of high levels of interest on the matter. We appreciate the enormity of the issue, what it means for the country and the stability of government and as a result of that he is still processing the report.”