[Comment] 'Unity woos investors like nothing else'

from the Independent Online

By John Batterby

One of the first challenges I faced in helping South Africa's hard-won image as one of the world's most hopeful new democracies in 2004 was how to respond to foreign visitors who were shocked by the extremes of sprawling poverty and conspicuous wealth that they encountered on the drive from Cape Town International airport to Bantry Bay and Clifton.

"When are you going to do something about that terrible mess?" was the question I was to face again and again.

Implicit was the question: How are you going to achieve a united, democratic South Africa in a country with such a yawning, visible gap between the haves and have-nots?

The question became a metaphor for the task of contextualising the huge challenges that face the country HIV and Aids, crime, poverty, underdevelopment, corruption etc in the framework of the historic negotiated settlement which enabled South Africa to hold its head high in the international community for the first time in half a century.

The grand narrative as the central theme is known in communications jargon told the dramatic story of a country which had negotiated itself out of an apocalypse and established a politically stable democracy with an independent judiciary and a world-class treasury, central bank, tax collection system and a sound macro-economy to attract accelerated trade, tourism and investment.

This course would in turn enable South Africa to deal with the huge developmental challenges arising from the apartheid legacy.

Former president Nelson Mandela laid the foundation of compromise and reconciliation necessary to create a society based on justice and equality.

President Thabo Mbeki created the economic framework to simultaneously bolster the globalised and prosperous first economy to enable the upliftment of the marginalised, informal and poor second economy.

Recently elected ANC president Jacob Zuma has stressed the importance of accelerating the process of delivering a better life to those trapped in the second economy.

In times when the grand narrative is under siege, one looks as a reputation manager for examples of the legendary resilience of the South African people and the robust economy; and one looks for declarations by influential friends of South Africa abroad to reaffirm their fundamental confidence in the economy and in the institutions of democracy and values enshrined in the constitution.

Managing South Africa's reputation in the UK has a sharp upside and downside: the upside is that there is a high degree of knowledge and connectedness between the two countries; and the legacy of a strong anti-apartheid movement in Britain has established a network of solidarity which has served the country well in terms of collaboration on a wide range of projects.

There is also a pool of goodwill in British society which goes much wider than the anti-apartheid network.

The downside is that the British tend to judge South Africa through a set of standards formed in their colonial past and are quick to recognise the "African syndrome" when the script does not follow a predetermined path cast in its own image.

In this equation, the legacy of apartheid and the pressures that a democratic South Africa would face to turn towards the needs of its neighbours on the African continent were underestimated.

The recent BBC documentary by Fergal Keane No More Mandelas presented a recurring media theme which seeks to replace the post-1994 narrative with one which says: The South Africa of the Mandela era has descended into a country under siege racked by crime, corruption, Aids, poverty and underdevelopment and now the one foundation of the new democracy a world-class infrastructure is under threat.

No More Mandelas was not a particularly compelling documentary and gave viewers few new insights into the complexity of South Africa's delayed transition to democracy and the consequences of a major upheaval in the ruling party.

It gave little insight into the personality of the new ANC leader, opting instead to reinforce existing stereotypes.

And it succeeded in the latter.

This kind of shift in media perceptions of South Africa cannot be turned around by a reactive approach or by trying to communicate away concerns which are based on facts. Changing perceptions means changing the facts as well as contextualising developments in a credible and constructive way.

As a country, we need to learn to listen to what others are saying about us to understand where they are coming from rather than to judge and dismiss them.

We also need to understand how their conclusions are based on a particular world view which is also in the process of undergoing radical change as the assumptions of an Anglo-Saxon world with its centre-of-gravity in London and Washington are increasingly challenged by the ascendance of the new economic powers such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Turkey and Mexico.

The view of South Africa from Beijing, New Delhi or Brazilia is a very different one and is a sobering reminder of the relativity of perceptions.

From the vantage points of these countries, South Africa is seen as a key strategic partner, a country of hope and promise and a dynamic destination for trade, tourism and investment.

And in varying degrees that is how we are perceived on much of the continent. A power-house of hope and development not without its own problems.

The kind of interventions that build confidence in South Africa and its economic objectives in Britain are the visits by leading economic cluster ministers and government officials in which investors are briefed on economic policy, the meaning of the budget and infrastructure programmes.

Such a visit was the one last week led by Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi which helped restore confidence in the economy on the back of an outstanding Budget and the emergence of a viable long-term response to the electricity crisis.

With a relatively low attention level on South Africa and African issues in Britain, repetition of key messages by leaders and decision-makers is an essential element of a successful communication and marketing plan.

Another vital need is to communicate South Africa's changing position in the global community and how new relationships require new perspectives and positioning.

Ensuring a constant flow of reliable and up-to-date information about conditions in the country, government plans, implementation of infrastructure and preparedness for the hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup are essential elements of an effective communication plan.

At a time when South Africa needs assistance from its friends more than ever before to address the skills gap and build training, mentoring and knowledge exchange programmes, the need for clear, open and honest communication is vital.

There is also a pressing need for a greater appreciation of the close relationship between domestic and foreign perceptions.

In order to project the kind of image that will assist South Africa in its economic diplomacy internationally it is important to have a clear and realistic appreciation of South Africa's place in the world and the fact that the country is on the right side of the shifting centre-of-gravity of the global economy as it moves both southwards and eastwards.

What impresses foreign observers and investors more than anything else are demonstrations of unity within the country: joint messaging by the public and private sector on economic issues is far more powerful than the government acting alone.

Investors can deal with changes in leadership and even ideological shifts. But they get spooked when power conflicts appear to threaten the country's political stability.

One message that South Africa has communicated successfully to the investor community is: Only a society based on sustainable democracy and the rule-of-law can ensure economic growth and sustainable development in South Africa given its legacy of inequality and injustice. The option open to some societies to forge ahead with inbuilt inequalities is not open to South Africans.

But our first task is to convince ourselves by our own actions and commitment that the cup is half-full rather than half-empty. We have to show that we believe in project South Africa and can deliver on our promises.

Once we believe in the future and project our confidence and belief to the world at large, the world will believe and invest in South Africa with renewed vigour and confidence.

Nowhere is the vibrance and energy of South Africa more immediately communicated than in the country's music, dance, theatre and fine arts. It is a celebration of the country's diversity and creativity which is instantly communicable.

We need to reach the same level of communication in other fields of endeavour if we want to assure our place in the globalised world and build a sustainable democracy at home.

# John Battersby has served as the International Marketing Council's London-based UK Country Manager for the past four years.

He is a former editor of The Sunday Independent (1996-2001) and served as the southern Africa correspondent of both the New York Times (1987-89) and the Christian Science Monitor (1989-94).