Shalin Bhagwan | Ashburton Investments 
While our developed market counterparts focused on the messages from China, Trump and Macron or perhaps even a new-found emphasis on the politics of inclusion and equality, I suspect that for most South Africans, it was Cyril Ramaphosa that stole the show at last week&#8217;s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
<div id="attachment_120551" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-120551" class="wp-image-120551 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Cyril-Ramaphosa-GovZA.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="727" />Photo: Government ZA</div>
The first opportunity to witness an (almost) unfettered and newly-elected President of the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, engage global business leaders on the world stage must surely be a clear sign of the positive things to come for South Africa in 2018, and beyond.
If we could distil Ramaphosa’s key message to leaders like Christine Lagarde of the IMF or famed CNN-reporter Christian Amanpour, it would be this: South Africa is back, possibly from the brink, but from here on count on us to get stronger, better, faster.
Stronger governance through a resolute focus on stamping out corruption as well as stronger relations between government and business.
Better accountability to the people of South Africa and certainty of government regulatory policy.
Faster progress to achieving the above as well as the goals that the country has set itself through its longer-term stated initiatives such as the NDP.
And all of this coalesces the central message: South Africa is back and open for business.
But, South Africa is not an island, and if DP Ramaphosa was in Davos to garner international support for the ‘new’ South Africa then are the doors to international investment tightly shut or slightly ajar?
It would appear to be the former if Donald Trump’s tweets are to be taken at face value; the leader of the world’s largest economy seems to be shutting shop with a banner that reads ‘America First’? Or, maybe not?
Some would say, a reconciliatory Trump was quick to point out that America’s economy, thanks to him, was booming and that even according to the IMF, his tax cuts will likely supercharge the American economy – even if that boost is a transient one. And a booming America is great for the global economy with both China and India growing in excess of 6%.
Even China with its Belt and Road initiative, a global, $1 trillion initative designed to bolster infrastructure investment across more than 60 countries, should play nicely into South Africa’s quest to re-ignite its economy following years of sub-par economic growth and a failure to capitalise on the last commodity boom.
So, despite the unwinding of QE in the developed world and the prospect of higher interest rates, the developed world remains in a low yielding environment.
In their search for yield, developed market investors with favourable global tailwinds from the US and China, continue to eye emerging markets.
South Africa is lining up to make sure that this time it does not miss out. What better place to start than a rejuvenated political leadership credibly engaging world business on the global stage at Davos.
Bring on 2018.

Davos: the dawn of a new day for South Africa

As US President Donald Trump flew into Zurich , in  Switzerland, the man likely to be South Africa&#8217;s next president flew out from the World Economic Forum in Davos. It was not the intention to miss Trump, Ramaphosa stressed during his visit to Davos, but it just so happened they missed each other.
Other African delegates to WEF said they were going to boycott Friday&#8217;s speech by Trump, but you could argue Ramaphosa had bigger matters on his mind &#8211; like the survival of the economy of the country of his birth.
Ramaphosa has every reason to be pleased with himself after a whirlwind week of meetings, with foreign investors, at the biggest economic gathering on earth. It went well according to the man himself and his Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba who claim hundreds of billions of dollars in investment &#8211; that was being held back by investors wary of corruption and political uncertainty &#8211; was now going to come flooding into South Africa.
&#8220;We are going home very happy with a bag full of millions of dollars worth of  investment commitments,&#8221; says Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa claims he will push his clean up campaign on his return to encourage more investors..
&#8220;Anyone found to have done corruption will find themselves behind the bars of a jail.&#8221; he says..
What a turn around for South Africa at Davos. A year ago many were having to argue the case for people to keep their money in South Africa; this year they have to be very clever with their timetables to fit everyone in who wants to talk investment.
&#8220;Everyone here.says we like what you are doing and keep going,&#8221; says Ramaphosa  with his trademark smile.
Ramaphosa has every reason to smile &#8211; for 25 years he has been a political nearly man &#8211; now on the crest of a wave of investor confidence he is on the cusp of real power.

WEF 2018: US President Trump flies in, SA’s Ramamphosa flies back to Africa- happy

(DAVOS) What happens to South Africa&#8217;s President Jacob Zuma now? That was the question on the lips of many foreign investors as they heard the South African delegation make their case at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
President Zuma&#8217;s chances of completing the approximately 18 months left in his second term as leader of South Africa have been in question ever since that December day when Cyril Ramaphosa succeeded him as president of the ruling African National Congress. This makes Ramaphosa a shoe-in for president should the ANC win the 2019 South African elections.
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According to senior sources in the ruling African National Congress, in Davos, for WEF there is a good chance President Zuma could resign by February 7 the last day of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town leaving Ramaphosa free to give the State of the Nation address in Parliament on February 8 where he can take national policy by the scruff of the neck.
&#8220;The alternative is an impeachment motion in Parliament and that could mean the president could lose all his benefits and pension. We are hoping common sense will prevail,&#8221; says one source in Davos.
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What foreign WEF 2018 delegates wanted to know about SA

(DAVOS) Senior officials of the United States government say the world shouldn&#8217;t fear its America First policy and as part of this it plans to press on with the Obama baby Power Africa that promises to lift the gloom over the continent &#8211; even if it appears not to be a top priority.
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President Donald Trump will fly into the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, with the biggest ever US delegation on Thursday to sell his controversial America First policy to world business leaders. It is the first visit by a US president since Bill Clinton in 2000; it is likely to be more significant and controversial. Clinton&#8217;s visit was seen as part of an international  farewell tour at the end of his term; Trump&#8217;s visit comes at the end of a controversial first year in power and protesters have taken to the streets of Zurich and a handful to the conference at Davos to express their displeasure.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross promoted the fruits of Trump&#8217;s first year that ushered in growth and said the world shouldn&#8217;t fear the America First policy as all it meant was US workers first and free and fair trade with the world.
CNBC Africa asked whether the US-backed infrastructure and energy building project would survive under the Trump administration.
&#8220;We have created 400 MW project in Ghana which is only a little over one per cent of what we have promised, but we are planning to go and visit Africa in the second quarter,&#8221; says Ross.
So the Power Africa project survives, but only just if the White House lack of enthusiasm is anything to go by.

Why Africa shouldn’t fear America First policy

(DAVOS) As Davos slides into its snowy fourth day (Thursday) there is the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good comes from the upbeat mood among many of the African delegates -especially those from South Africa &#8211; who are seeing the silver lining after years of fearing interest in investment in Africa was declining. The man likely to be the next president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa was setting out his vision behind closed doors here. Those who were there said it was clear South Africa is open for business and promises to crackdown on corruption.
The ebullient South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago was full of enthusiasm as he rushed through the media centre on the way to an interview.
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&#8220;A year ago I was here telling people in Davos to stick with their investments in South Africa. This year I do not have enough time in the day to fit in all the people who want to talk to me about investing in South Africa,&#8221; he smiled.
The bad was the reaction from Washington officials when I asked the question about what was to become of the important US-backed Power Africa project to close the massive gap between demand and supply for electricity in the Donald Trump era. The best investors on the continent will tell you no power, no business in Africa.
The question I thought was a fair one &#8211; linked to the lives of 400 million people and a huge chunk of the earth&#8217;s surface filled with vital resources. It drew a vague and detached response. Power Africa was also the brainchild of Trump&#8217;s predecessor Barack Obama and my fear was it could go the same way as Obamacare is going &#8211; into the bin.
&#8220;We have created 400 MW project in Ghana which is only a little over one per cent of what we have promised, but we are planning to go and visit Africa in the second quarter,&#8221; says Wilbur Ross the slow speaking,  United States Secretary of Commerce at a press briefing in Davos. A few hours later Nigerian millionaire Tony Elumelu, who is on the Power Africa steering committee, assured me  that the plan to build 30,000 MW of power generation &#8211; slightly more than the equivalent of the current output of South Africa &#8211; would be seen through by African investors.
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The ugly could be the reception for when he jets into Davos on Thursday. The word on the ground here is protests have been planned. A thousand people marched in Zurich in protest against his visit, on Tuesday and a handful tried to protest at WEF in Davos but were thwarted by tight security..
Many of the African delegates here say they will boycott his speech on Friday in protest against his recent dismissive and disparaging remarks about the continent.
It is likely to be a strange couple of days in Davos. The Wall Street Journal called it :&#8221;First America&#8221; meets &#8220;We are the world.&#8221; Trump has not had much time for the globalists of Davos and it is likely to be awkward to say the least.
Trump will be eager to push his story about how much the US economy is growing since he took over and will also likely talk about the current trade dispute with China. The US has slapped 30% tariffs on solar power equipment and washing machines from China to the outrage of Beijing which is likely to retaliate.
Trump could be questioned about his attitude towards Africa during his flying visit to this tiny ski resort in the Alps. The ugliest part of the Trump visit is that not one constructive word about the economic future of Africa is likely to come out of his mouth. The leader of the free world won&#8217;t be too worried &#8211; Africa should be.

WEF Davos 2018: The good the bad and the ugly

(DAVOS) The rocket man is the talk of snowy Davos this morning as he blasted himself into the debate over what the world is doing about its growing number of poor people.
This year the debate at Davos has not only been about foreign investment and policy &#8211; also there have been growing calls for action against poverty. <a href="http://cnbc.africa/insights/world-economic-forum/wef-davos-2018/2018/01/22/inequality/">Oxfam hit the nail on the head</a> during this conference when it claimed that a bus load of the world&#8217;s richest 42 people own more than a continent-load of 3.7 billion of the world&#8217;s poorest.
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Elton John &#8211; worth an estimated $300 million &#8211; added his golden voice to the mix at Davos last night, along with actress Cate Blanchett, as he picked up the conference&#8217;s Crystal Award for commitment for improving the state of the world. Past winners include, Leonardo DiCaprio, singer Shakira and Black Eyed Peas signer <a href="http://will.i.am">will.i.am</a>; John won it for his fight against HIV-Aids and Blanchett for her work with refugees.
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&#8220;The world needs to be changed. The inequality of the world is, to be honest, disgraceful,&#8221; says Elton John at the glittering awards ceremony in the Alpine ski village.
Now, I am all for people using their image or celebrity, or any power at their disposal, to ease the suffering of others.
But it seems to catch the attention of these awards it helps to have a sprinkle of stardust as well &#8211; plus millions of references on Google.
What I am looking forward to is the day the Crystal Award recognises one of the many tireless and selfless workers who slog away saving lives at the many dusty and overcrowded refugee camps I have reported from in Africa. Hollow-eyed they stand in the African dusk absolutely exhausted. They do a thankless job for a pittance for no other reward than saving the lives of their fellow human beings with a smile.
I am sure their harrowing first hand stories could raise awareness about the plight of the forgotten suffering millions like little else. The only problem is you will find few of these brave workers on Google.

WEF Davos 2018: The rocket man goes off over poverty

(DAVOS) If there is pessimism about investing in Africa no one has told the head of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwumi Adesina about it as he is dreaming of double digit growth for the continent..
&#8220;Everyone knows Africa is the place to invest,&#8221; he smiled as he breezed into the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.
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Adesina &#8211; the former Nigerian agriculture minister &#8211; is at the forefront of selling Africa to foreign investors at this gathering in the famous Swiss ski resort. The AfDB believes the continent will grow by around 4.2% next year, compared to a dismal 2.2 % in 2016, but even this is not fast enough for Adesina.
&#8220;We really need double digit growth in Africa. People can&#8217;t eat GDP figures and we really need a lot of growth to free people from poverty,&#8221; says Adesina.
Investment must come from within Africa, as well as without, if this dream of double digit growth is to become reality, he says. Sovereign wealth funds and pension funds in Africa are worth an estimated $670 billion and more than a trillion with the next decade. Adesina believes this money should be ploughed into creating jobs for the growing number of Africans leaving college and school.
On November 7 and 8 Adesina will to hold an investor conference in Johannesburg, South Africa..
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&#8220;We do not want just talk. We want to get global investors together at this conference in November to make sure that things happen,&#8221; he says.
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AfDB’s Adesina is dreaming of double digit growth for Africa

(DAVOS) It appears International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde and South African president elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than merely both being lawyers turned politicians &#8211; they both want to crack down on corruption and tax evasion.
On the first day of the World Economic Forum gathering in driving snow of the ski-resort in Switzerland Lagarde also showed she shared Ramaphosa&#8217;s penchant for the homespun turn of phrase as she launched a brighter than expected IMF Global Report on a worse than expected grey-sky day of heavy snow in Davos. It predicts global growth of 3.9% this year and next; growth of 0.2% higher than it expected thanks to tax cuts in the United States and improved performance from emerging economies like Russia and Brazil.
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&#8220;When the sun is shining it is time to fix the roof,&#8221; Lagarde told journalists at the first press briefing of Davos 2018 on Monday.
&#8220;Or when the snow stops it is time to clear the roads. That is how it seems to work here in Davos.&#8221;
Lagarde said the IMF was encouraged by the growth forecasts it was still worried about low interest rates hitting the viability of the financial sector and the increase in debt around the world.
&#8220;We will also be tackling corruption and tax evasion to come up with long lasting solutions,&#8221; Lagarde said.
Lagarde said economies should guard against complacency and provide training for women, the young and older workers whose jobs have been taken over by technology.
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WEF 2018

Davos: the dawn of a new day for South Africa

WEF 2018: US President Trump flies in, SA’s Ramamphosa flies back to Africa- happy

What foreign WEF 2018 delegates wanted to know about SA

Why Africa shouldn’t fear America First policy

WEF Davos 2018: The good the bad and the ugly

WEF Davos 2018: The rocket man goes off over poverty

AfDB’s Adesina is dreaming of double digit growth for Africa

IMF’s Christine Lagarde and South African president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than you think

News Tips

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WEF 2018

Davos: the dawn of a new day for South Africa

WEF 2018: US President Trump flies in, SA’s Ramamphosa flies back to Africa- happy

What foreign WEF 2018 delegates wanted to know about SA

Why Africa shouldn’t fear America First policy

WEF Davos 2018: The good the bad and the ugly

WEF Davos 2018: The rocket man goes off over poverty

AfDB’s Adesina is dreaming of double digit growth for Africa

IMF’s Christine Lagarde and South African president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa have more in common than you think

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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