Nafcoc’s position on Zuma is in contrast with former foreign affairs director-general and AngloGold Ashanti chairperson Sipho Pityana who has called a boycott of foreign trade trips organised by Jacob Zuma. Pityana has also called for the president to step down.
Reporter Eric Naki writes in the Citizen newspaper that the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reacting to Pityana’s statements by saying it is concerned about Zuma’s behaviour, which it says impacts on investor confidence. Yet Nafcoc president Lawrence Mavundla says Nafcoc’s long-standing policy has been to work with the government of the day and it would therefore support Zuma.
“We have a wonderful constitution that affords us an opportunity to elect a governing party that gives us a president. Let’s see President Zuma’s term of office go through, because if we use other measures besides the constitutional one to remove him, we say we have no democratic constitution,” Mavundla added.
He said that, as black business and small business, they were in a different situation to white-dominated big business.
“We can’t boycott these overseas travels with the president because we value them as an opportunity to grow as black business. If AngloGold Ashanti can afford to boycott, we as black business can’t afford that luxury,” Mavundla said.
He said even if the country had a bad president, Nafcoc would support that person if they had been elected constitutionally.
Sacci president Vusi Khumalo said they were concerned about investor confidence in the light of current political tensions. Khumalo said while Pityana’s statement had been widely acknowledged, he did not necessarily represent business at large.
