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S. African Presidency rejects distortion of mission at WEF

Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

The South African Presidency on Thursday rejected reports which indicated that the South African mission to the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland went badly.

"The visit to Davos is going very well. South Africa has been received positively. The message that South Africa is open for business is being communicated by the President (Jacob Zuma), Ministers and business leaders in all sessions in Davos," presidential spokesperson Bogani Majola said.

He was responding to an article written by commentator Alec Hogg and published in the Biznews newspaper which claimed that Zuma withdrew from the CNBC Africa debate at short notice on Wednesday night, on the evening before the WEF session.

The article claimed that Zuma withdrew from the panel on Wednesday, offering his Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan instead, but that "downgrade" was unacceptable to the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn who threatened to withdraw rather than share the stage with Gordhan.

So, at the last minute, Rwanda's third-term seeking President Paul Kagame was drafted into Zuma's seat, placating the Ethiopian, the article said.

"This is untrue and very mischievous," Majola said.

The presidency informed the organisers last week that Zuma would be unable to participate in the debate and the presidency advance team in Davos also continuously informed the organisers that Zuma would not participate.

"We reject the spreading of lies by Mr Hogg, who seems determined to mislead the public about this matter," Majola said.

Zuma is leading a delegation, dubbed as Team South Africa, to the WEF. He said before departure that the delegation will be able to present a strong case for South Africa in Davos despite the difficult global context.

The WEF 2016 takes place in a challenging global environment for both governments and business. The deterioration of the global economic outlook in recent months has resulted in slower global growth that has led to the weaker performance in several important developing countries.

This year's WEF brings together world leaders from business, government, international organizations, academia and civil society to discuss the global economy, under the theme: Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Endit