Issued by: Department of Transport KwaZulu-Natal
16 November 2001
As MEC for Transport I read with disbelief the statement purportedly attributed to Mr Brand Pretorius, MD of the McCarthy Group accusing President Mbeki of autocratic leadership and the lack of a unity vision for South Africa. This is the most unprecedented attack to emanate from a business leader.
For the record President Mbeki has led South Africa to two elections in 1994 and 2000. More than two-thirds of South African voted for him and many more support his style of leadership and emphatically support his vision for a non-racial S.A for a common patriotism. It is for this reason that both the United States of America and Europe see President Mbeki descry Mbeki's South Africa as a country of hope. Such as the respect he commands not only in South Africa but internationally.
I have faxed a copy of this scurrilous statement to the National Minister of Transport, Minister Dullar Omar and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alec Erwin as well as MEC's of Transport in the nine provinces. I had to do this because there is a pending meeting to be attended by minister's Erwin and Omar as well as all the nine MEC's with Toyota to discuss their disruptive role in the taxi industry, particularly the government's black economic empowerment programme.
As MEC for Transport I have been approached by workers employed at TOYOTA, their Durban plant. They have sought my intervention at the lack of transformation at Prospecton. They alleged that the management of that plant follows the old apartheid whites only policy with blacks excluded from the middle and senior leadership of that industry.
They alleged that to the TOYOTA 1994 did not happen. The very same taxi operators and the other millions who buy TOYOTA vehicles voted for President Mbeki. If for anything else one would expect an MD of a company whose clients are overwhelmingly black to show sensitivities instead of this foolhardiness. For myself I was today on the verge of buying a TOYOTA vehicle for my personal use from a McCarthy dealership. I have changed my mind. I cannot be comfortable dealing with a company with a political agenda. If the business of government is politics, it should be accepted that the business of business should not blatantly political under my pretence.
If Pretorius believes that President Mbeki to be autocratic and lacks vision does he intend funding opposition to him or what does he intend doing about it. Seeing that the for established for government and business to iron out problems is clearly inadequate for the MD what does he intend to do.
I chair the economic cluster in KwaZulu-Natal cabinet. I also co-chair the Durban Growth vision, A Forum of organized business and civil society which has successfully hosted three summits.
I have found Durban and KwaZulu-Natal business in total support since we started the growth vision. I find KwaZulu-Natal big business totally supportive of transformation and the vision provided by President Mbeki's government both nationally, provincially and locally. I am convinced that none of them will support such blatant political attack on the President.
I hope against hope that the 'McCarthy' MD was misquoted. There is otherwise no other explanation.
Issued by: Mr S'BU Ndebele
MEC FOR TRANSPORT - KZN
082 5533 592