ID President Patricia de Lille will come out in support of recent comments by the chairman of Business Leadership South Africa, Bobby Godsell, when she delivers a speech to the MBA Programme at the University of the Free State at around 14H00 today.

In her speech, titled ‘Leadership Challenges of South African Business Leaders', the ID leader will say the ID supports Godsell's climbing into his business counterparts for awarding themselves what he termed "obscene" pay packages that were not related to value creation.

‘I also agree with his comments that it is wrong that executives that are shown the door before their contracts are up, are paid out for their full contracts,' Ms De Lille will say in her speech.

She will also agree with his comments that, "The tender entrepreneurs are a form of economic terrorism... It is a form of fraud. It is a form of theft actually."

‘South Africa needs a new generation of business leaders that truly know the difference between right and wrong,' she will say.

De Lille will also slam business for failing to show what she calls a ‘Marshal Plan -like' commitment to the reconstruction and development of South Africa.

‘Business is standing back with its arms folded and leaving everything to Government. In fact, business is doing something very similar to what it was doing during Apartheid,' she will say.

‘The only difference in 1994 was that photographs of FW de Klerk hanging on the walls of business board rooms were taken down and replaced with photographs of Nelson Mandela."'

She will also speak about her two most recent campaigns, resulting in the signing of the Competition Amendment Bill, which makes directors of companies found guilty of price fixing criminally liable for their actions, and the summoning of CEOs of cell phone companies before the Communications Portfolio Committee to explain mobile phone interconnection costs.

The ID Media Office will issue the speech shortly after 14H30 today.