BLSA calls on Zuma to step down, urges citizens to stand up against ‘state capture’

Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) on Sunday joined calls for President Jacob Zuma to resign from office.

The organisation – which represents the country’s most successful businessmen and includes CEOs of Vodacom‚ Anglo American‚ Discovery‚ Standard Bank and Investec – described Zuma’s much-criticised Cabinet reshuffle as “irrational”, saying his actions had damaged the economy.

The deputy chairperson of BLSA, Bonang Mohale, told eNCA Zuma had not acted in the best interests of South Africans.

He said the organisation had zero tolerance for corruption in both the public and private sector.

“We are really campaigning vigorously, deliberately, purposefully, consciously against state capture … all of these scandals, all of these developments can be traced back to state capture centred mainly around the president and one family‚ aimed at the illegitimate acquisition of South Africa’s natural and financial assets,” he said.

Without naming the controversial Gupta family, accused of influencing Cabinet appointments and board members in state-owned companies due to their proximity to Zuma – BLSA took out full page advertisements in several Sunday newspapers calling on all elected leaders to stop state capture.

The group said “South Africa is in crisis” and condemned the propaganda‚ racism and lies used to misrepresent the country’s anger with corruption.

“With few exceptions‚ our state institutions and enterprises are poorly governed‚ inefficiently managed and over-debted‚ functioning way below their capacity and the expectations and needs of citizens. South Africa is being divided into three groups: an elite who benefit from patronage and corruption‚ those too fearful to do anything about it; and millions who will suffer as a result.”

BLSA urged citizens not to stand by and allow state capture to become the “new normal” in the country.

“…We have no desire‚ intention or mandate to involve ourselves in party politics.

“However‚ we regard the present situation as the political and economic low point of our young democracy. We know that without decisive action by leaders in every sphere of South African life‚ our future is bleak.

“As corporate leaders‚ BLSA makes an urgent appeal to all our elected representatives in parliament and the ruling party and alliance partners‚ in particular‚ to exercise their conscience in taking whatever immediate steps are needed to reverse corruption and state capture and to restore confidence in our country’s leadership‚ our economy and the future of South Africa.”

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