{"id":14777,"date":"2026-01-22T20:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=14777"},"modified":"2026-01-22T20:41:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:41:27","slug":"has-team-sa-delivered-in-davos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=14777","title":{"rendered":"Has Team SA delivered in Davos?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"textFreeArticle\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/iframe.iono.fm\/e\/1637894?layout=modern\" width=\"100%\" height=\"170\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JIMMY MOYAHA: <\/strong>As we\u2019re wrapping up this week, we\u2019re concluding the gathering in Davos, Switzerland \u2013 the World Economic Forum gathering that happens annually. We\u2019re going to be reflecting on this and what it is that team SA took there.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m joined on the line by the Old Mutual chair Trevor Manuel \u2013 who was also the first democratically appointed finance minister of South Africa \u2013 to take a look at South Africa\u2019s standing in the global stage and what it is that we achieved this year.<\/p>\n<p>Uncle Trevor, thank you so much for the time. Always lovely having you on our show. What did Team SA take to Davos in 2026?<\/p>\n<p><strong>TREVOR MANUEL: <\/strong>Just for the record, I wasn\u2019t the first. I was the third finance minister in democratic South Africa. Derek Keys and Chris Liebenberg both preceded me. So, just for the record, I don\u2019t want to claim things that that weren\u2019t so.<\/p>\n<p>I think we brought a message here [to Davos] and I think the government representatives especially were very involved in communicating a set of issues.<\/p>\n<p>Last year commitments were made that this year that delegation could come back and say, \u2018Okay, let\u2019s take out your list of the issues we spoke about last year and let\u2019s check the boxes\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Government of national unity, check, still hanging together. The FATF [Financial Action Task Force] grey list, check, we\u2019ve been removed. The EU list, we\u2019ve been removed. The chairing of the G20, we handled that successfully. Ongoing work we can talk about.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>South Africa is off the dirty-money grey list<br \/>South Africa\u2019s ratings upgraded by S&amp;P Global<br \/>SA removed from another \u2018naughty list\u2019, this time by the EU<\/p>\n<p>In spite of everything happening, there\u2019s still a bright side to the economy that will allow South Africa to pull into the future.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>JIMMY MOYAHA: <\/strong>Uncle Trevor, how was that received on the global stage? You touched on some particularly important factors that were specific to South Africa \u2013 the likes of the greylisting, the hosting of the G20, and some of the developments that we had to contend with.<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/read:\u00a0SA faces prospect of not being invited to G20 in Miami \u2013 Manuel<\/p>\n<p>I can imagine at the 2025 Davos gathering South Africa took a very different conversation from what we had this year. How was that received from an investor point of view?<\/p>\n<p><strong>TREVOR MANUEL: <\/strong>Let me just set the stage for it. It\u2019s a rather curious gathering of people because there are few things that happen on the big stage in the forum. The bulk of these engagements happen in smaller meetings, persuading people \u2013 and frequently bilateral meetings with prospective investors. The only measure you have of this is the interactions at the end of it.<\/p>\n<p>The team, led by Minister Enoch Godongwana, meets on a daily basis to pick up on the meetings they\u2019ve had and their observations, and share them. I think that as we approach the last day, it\u2019s all still very positive.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s [important] that your listeners bear in mind that Davos is not a decision-making place. It\u2019s a place where people come and persuade each other of facts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of discussion that takes place. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a \u2018forum\u2019, not like a United Nations institution. You have an amazing reach of people.<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/read:<br \/>Why Davos has investors rethinking geopolitics, AI and South Africa<br \/>From rhetoric to reality: South Africa\u2019s economic renaissance at Davos<\/p>\n<p>I think what is important \u2013 and what I\u2019m going to call the elephant in the room \u2013 is the position that President Donald Trump took yesterday in his address, because it was an address to people in the hall, but it was also a global address, and it was very out of character for what happens at Davos.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve got to say it; it\u2019s not pleasant, but we need to know about it.<\/p>\n<p>Read: ECB\u2019s Lagarde says uncertainty is back amid latest Trump threats<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>JIMMY MOYAHA: <\/strong>Uncle Trevor, can we look at that in a bit more detail? What impact does that then have on the conversations, as you mentioned. This is not a decision-making gathering, but rather one where conversation is encouraged, where relationship-building and relationship-management takes place.<\/p>\n<p>When we have an address like that from the president of one of the most powerful economies on the face of the earth, what does that then do for the rest of the conversations that take place? And how does a country like South Africa navigate that, understanding that we might still have our own separate conversations that need to be had with the United States?<\/p>\n<p><strong>TREVOR MANUEL: <\/strong>Well, there\u2019s very little that that countries would get from that. Just bear in mind that on Tuesday there were two very important speeches \u2013 one by Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, and the other by President Emmanuel Macron of France.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>Trump turns G20 into a tale of two summits<br \/>Canada\u2019s Carney says world can move on without the US<br \/>Trump abandons tariff threat after \u2018framework\u2019 Greenland deal<\/p>\n<p>Both were positive, forward looking, and tried to capture what is happening in world history. What Prime Minister Carney did was to talk about rupture of the world that we\u2019ve come to know. So that that sets a backdrop for whatever else happens.<\/p>\n<p>I think that many, many of the commentators were completely shocked by the conduct of President Trump because it\u2019s unusual to have that kind of conduct from any high-ranking government official \u2013 never mind the president of a country like the United States.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Of course, he also went back in his press conference yesterday to talk about the \u2018genocide in South Africa\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, there isn\u2019t a single South African, not even the arch right wingers in South Africa, who believe that to be the truth. But he says it because he separates himself from truth. He lives in a post-truth world, and he thinks that the truth is what he declares it to be. But the rest of the world knows differently.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JIMMY MOYAHA: <\/strong>Uncle Trevor, as we wrap up the conversation, I want to take a look at something else that the rest of the world has been discussing this week in Davos, and that is around where we go from here.<\/p>\n<p>I want to get your thoughts on South Africa\u2019s positioning at the moment. We went to Davos with a clear set of objectives, and part of those objectives includes the ability to attract investments into our economy, to grow our economy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Are we positioned to take advantage of some of the things that are happening in the world from a transitionary standpoint? I\u2019m talking about the world transitioning into things like critical minerals or artificial intelligence. These conversations have been happening for several years.<\/p>\n<p>Given where South Africa stands currently, are we best positioned to take advantage of these transitions?<\/p>\n<p><strong>TREVOR MANUEL:<\/strong> Look, the way in which I look at this is that it\u2019s not binary. It\u2019s not all or nothing. South Africa has some skills, and there are a lot of things that we don\u2019t adequately utilise. In the broad arena of digitalisation, especially on artificial intelligence, we need to push much harder.<\/p>\n<p>We need to build it into the way in which education happens in South Africa. We need to take calculated risks, and we need to equip the next generation to be more agile in the way they deal with information.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Digital government can benefit citizens<\/p>\n<p>All of us, and you at SAfm and the media in general, I think have a big role to play to ensure that we equip ourselves to deal with a future that is going to be very different from the past. It\u2019s not going to be a light switch. I\u2019m waiting for that light switch, in terms of of analogue, and to have all of our broadcasts in digital format.<\/p>\n<p>That light switch hasn\u2019t happened, but this is not even about that. This is a managed transition to a world that is going to be better for everybody.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JIMMY MOYAHA: <\/strong>A better world, a brighter future, and one that South Africa is poised to take advantage of, especially following the deliverables that we set out to take to the international community at this year\u2019s World Economic Forum gathering.<\/p>\n<p>Listen: WEF 2026: What\u2019s on the agenda?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll leave the conversation on that note. Thanks so much to Old Mutual chair and \u2013 rightly corrected \u2013 the third democratically elected Finance Minister of South Africa, Trevor Manuel, for joining us to reflect on this year\u2019s World Economic Forum gathering.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Moneyweb\u2019s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\">\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n                if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n                n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n                t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n                s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '779812924991616');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script>#Team #delivered #Davos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can also listen to this po&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[9404,8912,1214],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}