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Zuma 'the CEO of SA Inc'
08/09/2008 09:28  - (SA)  

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Chris Moerdyk

I can't help but crack up with laughter every time I hear a business leader in our country insisting that Jacob Zuma should stand trial and that justice must seen to be done, morality upheld and ethics not compromised.

Because, if South Africa was a company, justice would have been corrupted, morality would not have been given a second thought and ethics would have gone out of the window in a heartbeat.

South Africa Inc's marketers and accountants would have had a look at the situation years ago and come up with the following strategy:

1. With almost half of SA Inc's target market (population) being under the age of 25, the most important thing would be to have a CEO who young people respected. Conclusion: Jacob Zuma seems to be the only person in the country that the majority of our youth look up to.

2. Given the current pro-Zuma demonstrations all over the country, dragging Zuma through the courts would clearly annoy not only the youth market (population) but probably the majority of the 47 million consumers in this country.

Conclusion: While it is all very well getting all huffy and puffy about wanting justice to be done and ethics upheld, the perception (and in marketing perception is everything and reality absolutely nothing at all) would be that the popular choice for CEO (Zuma) is being sidelined by a minority of shareholders with a grudge to bear (Mbeki & Co).

Brand loyalty

3. Not having Zuma as CEO would mean a serious drop in brand loyalty for SA Inc and while unhappy consumers cannot exactly go anywhere else (because SA Inc is a monopoly) they would most certainly take to the streets and trash the establishment by becoming unruly, civilly disobedient, uninterested in democracy and just thoroughly destructive and objectionable (the politically violent equivalent of consumers doing things like boycotting shops, setting trains alight when they are late and so forth)

4. The board of directors of SA Inc would follow the same process that most other companies in South Africa do when they find one of their senior executives, chairpersons or directors with their fingers in the till, robbing them blind or indulging in illegal share dealing. They would come to a compromise solution where the culprit is let off scot free on condition he does not say anything bad about the company. All in the interests of ensuring that the brand and reputation of the company is not damaged by a scandal.

5. It therefore stands to reason that if South Africa was a company, Jacob Zuma would never have been charged with anything in the first place and because companies don't have to mess about with thing like elections and what have you, they would simply have made him CEO ages ago so that he could work his charm and magic on the majority of shareholders and customers of SA Inc. And like a lot of businesses, promise them all something he couldn't really deliver and thus creating a headache for whoever came after him.

High and mighty

I am not for a minute suggesting that I believe Mr Zuma should not stand trial. I am just, for the heck of it, converting a political scenario into what seems to me to be a very popular business model.

But, as a marketer with an eye for long term brand loyalty, I agree with Mr Zuma who has often said that he would like his day in court to clear his name. Whether he will or not, I have no idea, but I can see the marketing value of him wanting to protect his own brand image.

I am also simply trying to suggest that business in this country shouldn't start getting high and mighty on things like justice, morals and ethics. I know I shouldn't generalise, I know, but when it comes to crooks, far too many business people in this modern world make politicians look like rank amateurs.

As proved by the fact that according to World Trade Organisation statistics, global companies spend R25 trillion (yes - 25 million, million rands) on backhanders, bribery, corruption and other completely illegal ways and means of protecting and growing their businesses.

Send your comments to Chris.

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.

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  Corruption mainly at the top.
08/09/2008 10:22
What you say is true. We had a private company do a theft control on our company. At the bottom "workshop level" they found they stole hack saw blades and drills etc. As they progressed with the investigation it started to go to the top management. Managers having building done at there homes swimming pools put in. And huge backhands from the suppliers. Then quickly it was stopped. The surety company was dismissed and the top dogs were safe. This arms deal goes much higher than any of us can imagine. This is why it will be squashed to protect the top dogs. Mr Zuma was at the bottom of the list regarding the handouts that is why he was caught. The top dogs will now do everything in there powers to have it go away... Something to think about? - Russell
 
  Nice take on this!
08/09/2008 10:23
Chris, enjoyed the article, and you raise some very valid points. The only BIG difference between business and politics is that politics is using taxpayers money and business doesn't (or shouldn't!). - Dave Robbins
 
  Hell's bells
08/09/2008 10:32
Chris, you should not bring things like this to the zuma supporters notice; they could take it seriously... And probably will. The dude must stand trial, obviously - but what is the cost going to be? And if he were a true statesman, he would ask them all to refrain from the talk they have been talking, and insist that justice take its course - after all, he claims he is innocent, right? But I think he incites them in the background a tad, which you can do when you have brain-dead supporters. - Marcd
 
  Zooom, zooom Zooom! Zuma!!!!
08/09/2008 10:36
Ja, but it really does seem a bit over the edge this whole Zuma ordeal huh? It's been dragging on too long and really smells like a bad marketing spree that went horribly wrong, backfired, but it is the cheapest brand, keeping the appeal to majority of the groupies. I hate following fashion, so... I say; burn the logo on every shirt and lets walk naked as it was intended. - ElectroMan
 
  @Dave
08/09/2008 10:36
No Dave, you have it wrong, the people who support Business are their customers, and if business want to attract these customers they need to market their products to these customers in an appealing way. Something similer to what JZ is doing. The tax payers in South Africa is all the people who want to live here, hence them paying tax, these are the people who choose who will lead them depending on such a persons marketing plan. - Angus
 
  Um Chris....
08/09/2008 10:37
You need to substantiate your claim that Zuma has the support of the majority of youth in this country. - manicm
 
  i'm tired of zuma
08/09/2008 10:38
i am tired of this zuma issue, lets make him president of the country and see how long he will last. the very same Vavi's and malema's who are fighting for him will quicly bring him down . i think south africa is in for a great fall.somebody say a prayer please...... - linda
 
  fraud
08/09/2008 10:39
If you are stealing from a private company you wil be dismissed! After a internal hearing with in two weeks.Not put on leaf for two years with still pulling a sallary. - ja
 
  Business vs Politics
08/09/2008 10:46
Mr Moerdyk, just a few other differences you may like to take note of: were SA a company, employees would be appointed based on their ability to get the job done; were SA a company, only a select, educated few, with substantial financial interests in the company would be allowed to vote; were SA a company, it would have a watchdog (also known as a country) to whom it would be held responsible for its actions; and a bunch more, old chap. - ian e
 
  Interesting facts though...
08/09/2008 10:51
It really is interesting that Mr. Zuma has been charged before and walked. Now charged again and still nothing, so if the NPA had such important evidence, why has it taken so long to get somewhere? I know Zuma's lawyers have stalled the proceedings, but is that unlike any defense might do to prepare and ponder all the tricks the attackers might throw at them...? Also I find it sad that many chant; "Hang him!", while not guilty yet and attack those who are willing to defend him. Why? - ElectroMan
 
  Russell...
08/09/2008 10:56
Too true...the top dogs are doing everything in their power to have it go away - just take a look at the scorpions! Very good article, refreshing take on the Zuma situation! I hope he gets his day in court! - KS
 
  Few comments
08/09/2008 11:03
I don't know what to make of this country anymore. I do think if Zuma is found guilty there is going to be anarchy. If he goes to trial and is proven innocent - great, much-a-do about nothing I suppose. But if he doesn't even go to trial there is going to be a complete insinking of confidence in the judiciary. His supporters (the mostly uneducated masses) will think that SA has won. No. SA will lose on every international front if he doesn't go to trial. Kiss SWC2010 - good bye. - Charl
 
  What does it matter
08/09/2008 11:07
From a "Company" or a "CEO" perspective, if all the folks that support Zuma, do not pay taxes. How does it help your argument? - Sinudeity
 
  How does it help your argument?
08/09/2008 11:08
If the chief supporters of Zuma, are the youth, and the lower class? The ones who ARENT paying taxes? - Sinudeity
 
  Trial
08/09/2008 11:18
Prosecuting JZ is not in the interest of SA, nor is it in the interest of arms deal in which he had very little influence. If anything, it has a potential of causing total havoc as you have painted in your business scenario. Now the question is, whose interest is it in to have JZ hauled before courts at all costs? What is there to be gained? I wish somebody would answer that. - Chris-T
 
  What drivel
08/09/2008 11:30
If my CEO had his hand in the till, he would be fired, finished and klaar. I own the company and he is there at my behest. If he steals from me, simple, he goes. The same applies to the SA, if Zuma had his fingers in the till, he has stolen money intended for his people and should go, not be promoted. What kind of "brand" management is there in sending a message that it is okay to dip your fingers in the till - and then get promoted. This country need moral regeneration not moral degeneration!! - johnson
 
  If Zuma can't.....
08/09/2008 11:31
If Zuma can't even reign in a his handful of short-sighted, uneducated, radically militant alliance leaders - how's he meant to control a country of close to 40 million people? - colinh
 
  RE: Hell's Bells
08/09/2008 11:36
Why does he need to stand trial? What greater good will actually be accomplish? The NPA needs to offer the Zuma the plea bargain agreement where he spills the beans on everybody else and be done with. There is no point in Zuma going to jail for being involved in a couple of dodgy deals. - Chris
 
  What insight!
08/09/2008 11:42
Chris you have just openly stated what we have known all along: big business is corrupt without exception. Also, if anyone naively believes that big business is NOT behind the Zuma corporate raid on SA Inc, then drink some more Kool-Aid. This jostling for power is nothing more than the public face of a behind the scenes scrap between competitive interests for a bigger share of the lucrative fiscus. - Reg
 
  zuma
08/09/2008 11:43
There is NO doubt about it, Jacob Zuma WILL BE the next president of SA - FACT. Energy should be chanelled into working with the guy, not against him. He needs all the support he can get to make SA a great country. - ms marple
 
  Where did you study business.
08/09/2008 11:54
You don't select your CEO based on your target market. You select your marketing based on your target market. Shareholders select the CEO. Also a good marketer will separate the market's wants (Zuma for president) and their needs (health, education, wealth etc.) and will focus on their needs. Your argument that business should accept Zuma because some of them are corrupt is flawed. Also R25 trillion is meaningless unless you express it as a percentage of Global GDP. - Rian
 
  @Marcd
08/09/2008 12:05
Chris, well said. Marcd?s choice of words is insulting. Zuma supporters are not brain dead and they are within their right to support Zuma. The same way some white folks defended apartheid and some are still obsessive about it. No one is saying Zuma is innocent but I am questioning the way the NPA has dealt with his case. Zuma has been persecuted for over 8 years without being charged or prosecuted. The NPA claimed to have had prima facie evidence against him but declined to prosecute. Why was he immediately charged after winning the ANC presidential elections? Why did the NPA hold a survival meeting and among other things deliberated on how to deal with Zuma during the ANC conference? Surely people like Marc are naive and very quick to judge with limited knowledge. - Jayzee
 
  2c
08/09/2008 12:06
We cannot take a gamble with 45 million peoples futures.. He must be held accountable like I would be. If he doesn't then its a highjack of democracy and the law. And that I will not put up with, because thats inequality, and Im the one who is losing out. People who pride themselves on seperation from the masses, like almost everyone in our government, are, by default worth less than the people who live within the system. Slam all corruption, and start with the government. - BlaBla
 
  trillions
08/09/2008 12:07
isn't a trillion, one thousand billion? (a billion is one thousand million) - the facts
 
  Chris-T, my answer to that....
08/09/2008 12:08
is that is interest of the tax-payers (i.e. you and me) to get to the bottom of who scored what out of the Arms Deal, prosecute them (notice the them!) and ensure that they are never in a postion to abuse the system again. The Arms Deal cost this country R63 billion; don't you think that we have a right to know what happened to the money when there are all these questions (SCOPA, Feinstein, Crawford-Browne, etc.) being asked? And have those questions been answered? - Dave Robbins
 
  Day in court
08/09/2008 12:12
JZ always says he wants his day in court but why then is he fighting so hard to stay out of the court? - JD
 
  @Rian
08/09/2008 12:18
Exactly, Rian - looks like Chris has some shady marketing/business knowledge... most of what he says is unclear and biased - I agree
 
  Our president, your president
08/09/2008 12:21
I think it will be fair to start preparing ourselves for a big party because Zuma will be a president, like it or not. Chris anology worries me because his theory omits other parts of conclusion. He has concluded that your future president is corrupt, also the skeleton of his 'business model' shows a cheap marketing. According to him Cris Inc is only driven by 2 stakeholders, customers and shareholders. - Zorro B
 
  Misconception
08/09/2008 12:30
I always wonder why some people perpetuate the misconception that JZ's supporters are mainly uneducated, lower class people. The truth is his support is as widely distributed as the normal distribution of SA society. Also, alliance leaders aren't uneducated, eg SACP is led by Dr Blade Nzimande, a former UKZN senior lecturer. It just shows how loud we talk, yet how little we know. - Chris-T
 
  Zuma and business
08/09/2008 12:30
Chris, in a public company, shareholders have a say in who runs the company. Shareholders are people who paid good money to buy shares. Now in SA, the 'shareholders' are effectively the people who pay taxes. Assuming that economists are correct and some 40% of SA's adults are unemployed (and thus contributing no taxes), don't you feel it's just a tad inequitable that these are mainly the people calling the shots? - doug
 
  Better life for all
08/09/2008 12:34
This is the "better life for all" that will again be used in the upcoming elections. Can we afford it for another term? - TC
 
  The BIG REASON why Zuma should be prosecuted
08/09/2008 12:35
He PROMISED, that if he gets taken out by justice, that he will give up the names of the bigger fish, and their involvement in the arms scandal. THAT IS WHAT WE WANT! Take Zuma to jail, so we can nail the Mbeki's too! The QUICKER we get the corruption out of our bleeding country, the quicker we can start building a prospering nation. - Sinudeity
 
  Zuma as President
08/09/2008 12:38
Believe me when i tell you that we are in for a trying time in SA.Whilst i cannot imagine any sane person wanting Zuma to be president,his cronies will ensure that he does.In addition,he will also walk free from all alleagtions & i even doubt that he will stand trial.This country is going backwards and really,exactly the same way as during the previous dispensation (Apartheid in reverse).I believe these guys dont make idle treats when they say they will really kill for Zuma.They really will!! - Sham
 
  @the facts
08/09/2008 12:39
Lol. One thousand million is a billion, and one thousand billion is a trillion. But amazingly one thousand times one thousand is a million, so a trillion is a million million. No so much the facts, are you? If you following USA numbers of course. - MJ
 
  I cannot believe that supposedly Educated people are asking "Why does he need to stand trial?"! Sir, you must certainly be joking!
08/09/2008 12:41
The president should not be the person who has only the support of the Majority. The president should be an Upstanding AND respected Citizen AND have the support of the majority, not be an accused criminal.Hence it is imperative that he stand trial and be acquitted before presidency. This is an ideal to which we should all strive towards as South Africans!And please do not respond with apathy and complaints of how bad things are,since that does not justify poor behaviour & poor decision making - Jesvir
 
  Zuma
08/09/2008 12:44
Israeli police have recommended that criminal charges be filed against the country's out-going Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He's accused of accepting bribes and breaching public trust, over suspicions he had unlawfully accepted cash-stuffed envelopes from a US businessman. So why cann't we do the same with our Zuma - Dzivhani
 
  Fuzzy Future
08/09/2008 12:54
Whether Zuma becomes Prez or not, we are in for a rough ride, because the out-of-control youth will either celebrate or protest the result, leading probably to looting and rioting on some scale, while the real investors and skilled work force of SA Inc, leave our country. There is always going to be discontentment and perhaps anarchy, because of who is either in or aspiring to power. It looks bleak to me, because our population isn't mature enough to understand democracy and law. - SeanO
 
  THIS A POLITICAL CASE
08/09/2008 13:23
I agree.Zuma is being chased for 8 years for R500 000.NPA has spent R65 million on the case[though not charged yet]+ The Presidency has paid R10 Millionb towards Zuma's lawyers.Therefore this case is insanity.Therefore it's a matter of logic that the price is obviously not monetary but politically.Guess what; Zuma will be President. Victor, DBN - victor
 
  Terrorist
08/09/2008 13:25
Excuse me but the more I look at this the more to me it seems like openly confessing to planning terrorist attacks if demands "Zuma isn't cleared of all charges with out a trial". To me that is terrorism. And surely we have laws protecting us again acts of terrorism. - Jason
 
  Conspiracy
08/09/2008 13:26
Zuma will have his day in court, and he's fighting to have a fair trail! The state cannot bring any fabricated evidence they want! And he'll be the best CEO this country has ever seen. The people will prosper again and the naysayers will be devoured or leave. - Rhapelang
 
  INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY
08/09/2008 13:27
Chief Justice Langa - Former ANC operative Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke- Former PAC leader Judge Kate O'Regan - Former ANC operative and more other Judges of the Concourt. Question is HAVE THEY SUDDENLY stop being Politician or hold political views and belonging to a particular faction.If you analyse the trends it will seem to reason that they are likely to fall under Mbeki faction. - Simphiwe
 
  CE-Oh
08/09/2008 13:28
If he were CEO, the company SA would be liquidated within months. Seriously though, a CEO is not appointed because of their popularity, but their ability to do the job and move the company/country forward. I am not convinced JZ has the credentials for this. He would be a good spokeman or spin doc for the company. I am also not convinced that he has the support amongst the youth that he thinks. A corrupt CEO will also eventually be bust. A corrupt politician get a get out of jail free card. - Mark T
 
  Very worrying
08/09/2008 13:30
It is so surprising that Sean and his friends believe that skilled work force of 'SA Inc' is leaving the country. I would like you to define your 'skilled work force'. I would not be surprised that you definition insists that people of colour are not skilled. Believe me, they will come back because in those countries their colour won't help them to get somewhere. We all know that in this 'SA Inc', whites are still seen as better performer than people of colour. Bad for SA. - Zorro B
 
  leaders are born,not made
08/09/2008 13:39
As it was said, leaders are born, not made... we need an Obama,Mandela,Martin Luther King... leaders who are prepared to die for their country.. Not die for other people - jj
 
     
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