Over the years, I have had much to do with Ebrahim Patel, the outgoing Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. Much has been said about his contributions to South Africa’s industrial policy landscape — with several views expressed on the efficacy of various policy interventions and the like.
My take is different. I want to reflect on his character as a leader in South Africa’s public life because I think while we may have varying views of policy decisions and actions made by those with influence, we can sometimes forget the textured nature of leaders — beyond the headlines.
Throughout my working career as a leader in business, I have often stood on opposing ends to Minister Patel. On any number of issues, we often disagreed about the “how?”, but I want to argue that his principled nature meant that there was almost always consensus on the larger intent — which is the big “why?”.
“EP”— as he is known in business and government circles — along with a few of his colleagues like Gwede Mantashe and Enoch Godongwana, represents a cohort of public sector leaders who have demonstrated the need to listen to dissenting voices in the private sector.
South Africa’s business environment can be fraught with many challenges: regulation being one, and of course, the structural impediments that inhibit growth in numerous industries. However, the willingness of public sector leaders to engage on what could be the alternative, even when we are often on the opposing ends of the ideological spectrum, is noteworthy.
This is a principle, I believe, Ebrahim Patel stood for.
His tenure was marked by fierce debates about whether an interventionist approach to economic planning, industrial policy, trade, and competition is preferable for an economy like ours, which arguably needs more space to grow and expand than less.
Wearing my different hats, time and time again, I saw how passionate Patel was to state his case, while also creating room for opposing views. But the highlight of his tenure, and indeed his collaboration with business, was the last-ditch attempt to save South Africa’s participation in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) programme of the US government.
Read more in Daily Maverick: US Agrees Preliminary Deal With Africa on Trade-Access
The debates that ensued about whether South Africa’s participation in Agoa would be renewed were a source of much concern for our country’s business community. This legislation provides duty-free access for certain African countries, including South Africa, to the enormous US market. The legislation has been key to building our exports, ranging from vehicles to citrus fruit. Billions of rands of economic activity and tens of thousands of jobs in South Africa depend on those exports.
The key question was whether Congress would use the renewal process to redraft the act such that South Africa was no longer eligible. A valiant and indeed collaborative approach by business — led by Business Leadership South Africa — working with government, led by Ebrahim Patel, is perhaps telling of his principled nature. As business leaders, we were clear about a range of domestic and policy issues that have created room for doubt on South Africa’s continued participation in Agoa.
We were also clear, however, that the only way we could ensure that our position as a country was understood by the US government was through joint and active engagement.
This culminated in a highly successful visit to the United States last year, providing us with an opportunity to meet with the US government and business community to not only reaffirm our commitment to open global trade — with Agoa key to this — but also give a wider sense of our broad approach to collaboratively working together as business and government.
The result in the end was the renewal of South Africa’s participation in Agoa — an achievement which I believe would have been impossible without Ebrahim Patel.
What to make of his legacy?
Legacy is always contested. It is even more contested for those leaders whose work is so intimately tied up with the fortunes of society. But a one-sided view of legacy that does not sufficiently consider the character and an openness to collaborate, despite vehement differences, is not a true and full reflection of anyone’s legacy. I believe the same is true of Patel.
In a time when South Africa has experienced a dearth of honest, hardworking, and principled leaders, EP has stood out from the ranks. The rejoinder to this has been a curt, yet important view to consider: “But these are the very basic traits that we expect of our leaders”.
True as it may be, it does not negate the fact that we need more leaders like this — irrespective of the ideological, or indeed, political differences we may have across the lines of our society. This is a kind of leadership approach that prioritises consensus over difference. And that is because South Africa is, in many ways, a nation built on consensus.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Minister Ebrahim Patel was right about some things, if not all
I have previously argued that consensus is not necessarily “perfect agreement” — and certainly within the ranks of business, there is much that we won’t have agreement on with the government. What we should strive for, however, is to build and deepen our consensus and build a social compact that puts the people of South Africa front and centre.
Our historic transition to today’s constitutional democracy was secured through a difficult and tiring process of building consensus, with leaders from all sectors of our society who rarely agreed, but shared common ideals. These ideals have stood the test of time for three decades now.
So, when we consider the legacy of any leader, including Ebrahim Patel, let’s reflect on how many more leaders we need who can hold their own to champion their fierce ideas while being open to contestation.
Patel’s legacy is not just in the policies he championed but in his principled nature, his willingness to engage with dissenting voices, and his unwavering commitment to the greater good of South Africa. His approach to leadership, marked by integrity and collaboration, sets a standard for future leaders.
As South Africa prepares to usher in its 7th administration, the example set by Patel and many other public sectors will serve as a guiding light for future leaders, reminding us that true leadership is not only about policy positions – it is about the values and principles that guide our actions and decisions. DM