Know Your Uneducated Ministers

ace_rizzle said:
Jacob Zuma - Successfully completed grade 5, Nkandla Primary

Julius Malema - Jonty's Special School for Special Children, diploma in toilet training
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Don't make the mistake of assuming that because someone has degrees, they're going to be good at doing things. I know people who have been at dinners and other social situations with Jacob Zuma, and found him to be an interesting and engaging conversationalist, and intelligent. By contrast, Mugabe has 7 legitimate degrees, and we know how much that helped Zimbabwe.
 
Jacob Zuma:

Awards/Decorations/Bursaries
Honoured with the Nelson Mandela Award for Outstanding Leadership in
Washington DC, US. (1998)
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from the University of Fort Hare
(2001)
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Administration from the University of Zululand
(2001)
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Medical University of Southern
Africa (2001)
 
Sparhawk said:
Jacob Zuma:

Awards/Decorations/Bursaries
Honoured with the Nelson Mandela Award for Outstanding Leadership in
Washington DC, US. (1998)
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from the University of Fort Hare
(2001)
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Administration from the University of Zululand
(2001)
Received an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Medical University of Southern
Africa (2001)
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He should be given an Honorary Doctorate in Song and Dance.
 
DJK said:
Jungleboy - that is not how things operate in the private sector, for obvious reasons. You won't find cross-sector management pollution like you do in the public sector at all. The CEO of Pick N Pay is most certainly not in a position to lead AngloGold to success. At most they will cross industries within the same sector, but jumping sectors in a senior management position requires significant experience and expertise in that sector.

A perfect example here is Mr Balfour who jumped from sports minister to correctional services minister and that is a problem. This is commonplace in the public sector however common sense says that there is very little in his education or experience that makes him qualified for the position. In fact his experience wasn't right to manage the sports portfolio either. However there is no operational synergy between sports and correctional services. You're harping on under the false illusion that a CEO is responsible for only the financial health of a company which is patently false. They are ultimately responsible for general operations, overall financial health, risk management, regulatory and legal issues, marketing, sales and distribution, personnel, corporate finance, general administration, investor relations, planning and management of all of these things as well. All of which require a significant understanding of the sector, industry and the company itself. If cross-sector pollution happened in the private sector like it does in the public sector, investor confidence would drop completely - ask any investor about this. This is why it is best practice for companies to advertise their senior management's experience and expertise on their investor relations website.

It therefore stands to reason that if we resolved these management issues in government, investor sentiment for SA would increase significantly. What you're highlighting is essentially a board member's responsibilities who are only interested in value derived for shareholders - financial reasons only pretty much. That is government (as a shareholder) in this scenario. The man on the ground ultimately responsible (the CEO or minister in this case) MUST have extensive expertise, experience and education in the sector and industry. The board members hire the CEO/minister...
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You made very valid points, however the Raymond issue is not a very good example. He basically founded Pick 'n Pay and has presumably spent his entire life in the retail sector.
However, there are very good examples of people crossing over to a completely differenet sector. Examples that come to to mind are Sizwe, who spent a significant amount of time being CEO of Telkom( telecommunications sector) and switched over to FNB.
Another one is imminent arrival of Maria Ramos at ABSA, after having turned Transnet around is now headed for the banking sector.
My point is that, a general manager or any of the lower level managers do not frequently switch sectors like this, whereas this is indeed a very common trait amongst senior executives.
Ministers, by the nature of their appointment (limited to 4 year terms, at most) do not have the priviledge of building careers in a particular sector. Their careers are more often determined by the outcome of the polls...
Even though it might be a good idea to have people that are well versed in a particular sector, in politics, it's near impossible.
 
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@Etiennek for sure the "one farmer one bullet" number I hear it is difficult to master
 
gpe said:
There's just one problem with all this --- how many of these degrees and doctorates were awarded as "honorary degrees & doctorates" ??

Difficult to tell and its a little different than spending 4 or 5 yrs and 100K applying yourself towards these degrees
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None, all of those that I posted are all formal qualifications.:rolleyes:
 
@Jungleboy. Fact is that many of our key sectors are in dire straights thanks to being run by incompetent ministers. Their management skills leave much to be desired. I do agree with some here who say that if they had risen through the ranks in the actual field for which they are now ministers, it probably would have resulted in more efficient sectors.

The telecommunications sector is probably the most perfect example of how much damage an incompetent (and it must be pointed out wrongly skilled (if any skill at all)) minister can cause - not only to the sector he (or in this case she) is in control of, but as a direct consequence to the whole of the country. Ivy has no real concept of the importance of the pace of Telecommunications development, and her feet dragging (and often intentionally slowing down processes by using the courts and legal avenues) has effectively taken SA from being the best telecommunications enabled country in Africa to being one of the worst connected.

In a company with a standard CEO and other executives, their management skills are of extreme importance, and they are paid massive incentives to keep their companies thriving. A minister, on the other hand, drives laws and policy for the entire industry. If they do not understand the industry, then how on earth can they make sound policy?

Someone used the example of Trevor Manuel. A 10 minute discussion with Trevor Manuel will blow you away just how well that man understands finances and economics. And it certainly shows when you look at his portfolio successes compared to the likes of the Depts of Health, Communications, Energy, Home Affairs, the list literally goes on and on and on.
 
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