The new amended Mining Charter – the agreement that governs black ownership in the mines – has been a festering sore for more than four years. The employers and unions have disputed it, lawyers have argued over it and yet no one seems to be able to agree on one of the most important documents in Africa’s most lucrative industry.
Love it or loathe it, the mining industry in South Africa employed more than 450,000 people, with a trickle down that supports an estimated 4.5 million people, contributing  7.1% to GDP, in 2016. In the same year, it racked up sales of more than $30 billion. It may be a far cry from the industry’s heyday in the 1980s, when it employed a million people, but it is still too big to ignore.
Cars run on South African-mined platinum, in their catalytic convertors, from New York to Paris; around half of all the gold on the fingers and locked in the bank vaults across the world was unearthed and refined in and around Johannesburg in more than a century of mining.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2012/03/01/trouble-mining-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Trouble With Mining In Africa</a>
This treasure trove of wealth is the main reason why the fight over the Mining Charter has been so intense and emotive. It is an agreement, not legislation, agreed by employers and government to foster black empowerment.
It came into force in in 2004 amid a blaze of publicity claiming the industry was going to be swiftly transformed, towards more black ownership, in a decade. Instead, when 2014 came around there was uncertainty, a lack of direction, and questions in the corridors of power whether the Mining Charter had achieved anything at all.
The mining employers fear the Mining Charter has scared off foreign investors and is part of a severe decline in this industry. In 2016, according to Statistics South Africa, the South African mining industry’s real GDP was 2.6% smaller than in 1994. The thriving financial services sector grew by 168% over the same period.
The Chamber of Mines – that represents 90% of South African mining companies – called the amendments the last nail in the coffin when they came out last year. The former mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane called the amended Mining Charter the key to changes in the industry that will benefit the black majority – for so many decades seen as mere cheap labor in the mines.
The zealots in the government – who were pushing the amendments – want radical change in mining. They see it as a pillar of the establishment in apartheid days where black sweated labor was used to create the wealth to keep the status quo.
When the amendments were released they were dramatic and controversial. An increase in black ownership from 26% to 30% with a rider that this be maintained at all times. The mining employers bridled at this clause because they argue for a “once empowered, always empowered” rule that stipulates that once they have borne the cost of transferring ownership to new black owners they are deemed to have done their job. One of the bugbears of the black empowerment game is dilution.
That is, after the lock-in period, black shareholders often cash in their stakes, which dilutes the overall black owned percentage, leaving the employers with the arduous task of starting again. If the “once empowered, always empowered” principle was upheld by the courts it would mean most of the major mining companies could claim they had done their job.
On top of this were a raft of amendments that the Chamber of Mines objected to and one or two the lawyers called illegal. Among them, a stipulation that 1% of the revenue be paid to black shareholders before any others are considered. Mining lawyers consider this to be an illegal flaw – in contravention of the Companies Act – in a Mining Charter that was rushed and poorly written.
“It is open to discretion, with very unclear rules that make it very difficult to invest with that level of uncertainty and that is the long and short of it,” says Peter Leon, mining law expert with Herbert Smith Freehills in Johannesburg. He also considers another clause about the writing off of dividends, to be repaid by black shareholders in fees for shares, to be tantamount to expropriation.
The Chamber of Mines claims the Mining Charter is unconstitutional and written without proper consultation. Its lawyers were ready to argue this in a three-day judicial review of the Mining Charter by a powerful bench of three judges, at the High Court in Pretoria, on February 9, 10 and 11.
At the eleventh hour, South Africa’s new president Cyril Ramaphosa – a mining man to his boots – made good on a promise in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos to intervene. His officials persuaded the Chamber of Mines to hold off with its legal challenge to give negotiation another chance.
It means the regulation of the industry will fall back on the previous charter, with its 26% black ownership target, that most companies had priced in and come to terms with.
Outside the court on the day was a throng of singing and dancing protestors who could prove a fly in the ointment. These were the people who live with the mines and their dust and disruption.
They had traveled for hundreds of kilometers, with their lawyers in tow, from tiny villages across South Africa to make their point in Pretoria. They wanted a seat at the negotiating table and the court ruled that they should get one.
The mining communities making their debut in the Mining Charter talks, alongside government, unions and mining employers, could add more time and dimensions to what is already likely to be a complex debate.
The Chamber of Mines has flagged this as a difficulty in negotiations. Mining companies often struggle to deal with power shifts and conflicting leadership claims in communities around mining – especially when the money starts flowing.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/03/12/new-kids-mining-block/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: New Kids On The Mining Block</a>
This puts the prediction of wrapping it all up by June, made by the new mining minister Gwede Mantashe, in severe doubt.
“We will finish it within three months, I am putting that timeframe for myself,” says Mantashe.
&#8220;A new Mining Charter that is well designed and reached through an inclusive negotiation process needs to be finalized as soon as possible,&#8221; says the Chamber of Mines in response.
In many ways, a crumb of comfort for the employers is that the new man Mantashe is also a mining man down to his boots and a world away from his disliked predecessor Zwane. Mantashe, the former leader of the biggest union in Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), is known in the industry as an honest broker and skilled negotiator.
“You could say Gwede has mining in his blood,” says Elize Strydom, a former legal head and chief negotiator at the Chamber of Mines, who sat across the table from Mantashe in wage talks for nearly a decade.
“The good thing always was when Gwede said you had a deal, you had a deal, and you could go home and sleep soundly.”
Mantashe, who is also the chairman of the ruling African National Congress, will have his work cut out for him over the next three months to make good on his promise and sort out what is probably the most tricky and crucial set of regulations in one of Africa’s biggest economies. It is not going to be easy reconciling the wishes of a multi-million-dollar investor and a poor villager living in the shadow and dust of a mine.
Any foreign investor or any African business connected to mining will hope Mantashe does so.

Aerial view of a quarry, Johannesburg, South Africa

Mining Charter Back To Square 26

With the new South African visa regulations, it’s not just the small B&amp;Bs taking a hit – the high-end is feeling the effects too.
Foreigners who want to visit South Africa must apply for visas in person at South African embassies to have their biometric data captured. Residents of countries who require a short-stay visa for South Africa, and do not have a South African embassy in their country or city, will have to travel. Parents and guardians traveling with children must be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate.
The travel and tourism sector directly employs an estimated 679,500 people, is growing at a rate of 3% and contributes directly and indirectly to 9.4% of South Africa’s GDP. But Cape Town’s top-end is feeling the brunt of the legislature. The Westin, at R2,330 ($167) a night, is situated at the entrance of the Victoria &amp; Alfred Waterfront; with views of Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and the entirety of Table Bay. Within walking distance from town it’s a firm favorite for tourists. It’s an easy sell but the five-star hotel has already taken a hit.
“At The Westin, we have started to see the ramifications that the new visa regulations is having on the tourism industry. Damage to the local tourism industry has already begun.  We definitely anticipate a lull for the festive season this year. A further concern is the collateral damage that comes from this, such as the strain on the South African economy as well as job loss,” says Rob Kucera, FEDHASA (Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa) Cape Chairman and GM for The Westin Cape Town.
Occupancy rates have dropped significantly for The Westin. A study commissioned by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa said the tourism industry lost R886 million ($63 million) in direct spending last year because of the regulations and fears that Ebola might spread from West Africa. It’s estimated that South Africa is set to lose 100,000 tourists this year, translating into a R1.4-billion ($100 million) loss.
“We have changed our strategy to find business in other market segments and countries. We have taken a hit over our current winter period and the upcoming season will not be as good as last year,” says Kucera.
“There is no doubt that due to the new visa regulations we have challenging times ahead. As the industry body for the hospitality sector we are committed to encouraging these conversations for the benefit of the tourism industry and ultimately to safeguard the international tourist impression of South Africa as a holiday destination of choice,” he says.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma announced that a new inter-ministerial committee has been established to deal with the unintended consequences of the new travel visa regulations. The regulations are coming under fire – not only for the effects on the tourism industry but for the justification of them. The consequences come at a bad time for South Africa; the economy shrank by an unexpected 1.3% in the second quarter.
Tourism minister, Derek Hanekom, admits tourism has been hit. He said the number of visitors from China, one of South Africa’s major markets, has dropped by nearly 40% – and the numbers for other markets were similar.
In defense of the regulations, Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni briefed parliament. In his report, he claimed an estimated 30,000 children, 50% of whom are under the age of 14, are trafficked through South Africa every year, and that the new regulations would protect those children. The figure has since been dispelled by Africa Check and in parliament, it was stated that 23 children had been trafficked in a three-year period.
With too much room in the inn on all fronts, the tourism industry’s fears are mounting

Too Much Room In The Inn

The new controversial South African visa requirements have been labeled an economy killer and sparked widespread jitters in the tourism business.
Foreigners who want to visit South Africa must apply for visas in person at South African embassies to have their biometric data captured. Residents of countries who require a short-stay visa for South Africa and do not have a South African embassy in their country or city, will have to travel. Parents and guardians traveling with children, must be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate.
<div id="attachment_3789" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3789" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-3789" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0000223010-300x196.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="196" />CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA &#8211; APRIL 28: Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Fatima Chohan meets to discuss the recent xenophobic violence on April 28, 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs hosted a meeting with Ministers of Home Affairs, Small Business Development as well as Police on the challenges of xenophobic violence and looting of foreign owned shops. (Photo by Gallo Images / Die Burger / Deon Raath)</div>
While the tourism industry cries foul, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Fatima Chohan, defended the new regulations. She argues that the migration laws have not been changed for 15 years and that the regulations are in line with international rules against child trafficking. An estimated 30,000 children are trafficked through South Africa each year, according to government.
“Research suggests that it will cost the South African economy 21,000 jobs and around R10 billion ($809 million). By the end of 2014‚ the number of visitors from China and Brazil had dropped 70% and 62% from the year before‚” says Beverley Schäfer‚ the spokesperson on Economic Opportunities‚ Tourism &amp; Agriculture from the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance.
South Africa began implementing new immigration regulations in May 2014. From May to December, South Africa lost 66,000 foreign tourists due to changes in the immigration regulations.
The Association of Southern African Travel Agents (ASATA) has estimated the new rules will hit 15% of tourists.
“In 2014, South Africa received 9.55 million foreign overnight tourists, an increase of 7,5 percent over that recorded in 2013. Demand from all overseas markets steadily dissipated throughout the year, coming off highs of 8,6 percent in the first four months of the year to a decline of 1,2 percent in the last four months. Assuming a 20 percent drop in demand from the family market will result in a direct, indirect and induced loss to the South African economy of at least R10 billion ($809 million) per annum and potential job losses of around 24,000,” says ASATA.
The damage to the South African economy so far is R2.6 billion ($210 million) and a threat to more than 5,800 jobs, it says. In the future, ASATA warns of the loss of 100,000 tourists with R1.4 billion ($113 million). This translates to a net loss to the GDP of around R4.1 billion ($331 million) and 9,300 jobs.
Despite South Africa’s economy facing another hit, the hospitality sector is poised for further growth in the next five years in the wake of a number of inbound travelers into the African continent, according to a report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in June. The hotel industry in 2014 benefited from an increase in foreign visitors and rising room rates. The new visa regulations, could scupper this.
“Many in the industry fear that international tourists will not consider South Africa as a destination, which already has a number of issues and concerns despite being a cheap destination. International visitors especially those from India or China or those traveling with families may chose a destination where entry requirements are less onerous,” says Nikki Forster, a director and partner at PwC.
South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, admits tourism has been hit. At the World Economic Forum on Africa he hinted that there would be a review.
“The current requirements [are] up for discussion right now as we speak, so it is not engraved in stone… We are in very intense discussions on this and I think we will find each other and find the right balance between legitimate defending, legitimate interests of the state and defending your national security interests and not putting unnecessary requirements on people wanting to travel to South Africa,” he said.
The Department of Tourism has since stated there will not be a review, but that talks about implementation will continue. The ministerial cabinet has resolved to set up a team of ministers to discuss and engage with any concerns to address the unintended consequences of the regulations.
With reports that Air China has cancelled the launch of direct flights to South Africa over the regulations, many of the continent’s finest resorts fear the threat of too much room at the inn.

The $809-Million  Question

Today’s anti-doping mantra is less about fighting the war on doping than it is about protecting those that matter in the world of sport from doping behavior: the clean athletes.
Eighteen months ago, the world’s anti-doping community met in Johannesburg to agree a new way forward for clean sport; an improved set of rules that would aid world sport in its bid to be clean. The rules, which came into effect at the start of this year, had the full backing of the people they are specifically designed to serve: the world’s athletes. After all, it is the clean athletes that are directly affected when another athlete chooses to dope; and, furthermore, it is the public who are robbed of true, fair sport when an athlete chooses to dope. Doping is not something any of us want to see.
Too often, when a doping scandal rears its head, people turn to sport for an immediate solution. Ever since we have had a collaborative global response to doping – through the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) – it has been the responsibility of both sport and governments to take action. As an athlete and someone that is widely involved in anti-doping through the Wada Athlete Committee, I can see only too clearly the areas where governments and sport should act.
Sport is a hugely lucrative business. The win-at-all-costs mentality that pervades all areas of society is particularly evident in sport, and it is through this prism that we often forget just how far some athletes will go to win. Often these athletes have huge influences around them; doctors, coaches or other members of their personal entourage influencing them in the wrong way. With sport as profitable as it is in this day in age, these entourage members have large financial incentives linked to an athlete’s success.
Wada, and the sporting and anti-doping organizations practicing its global anti-doping rules, can do a great deal to help maintain a level playing field. We run education and awareness programs; provide tools and courses on why doping is not the right course of action; and conduct innovative science and social science research that keep the clean sport movement one step ahead of the cheats. These are but a few ways that Wada and its signatories do their part, but they cannot do it all. It is the governments of the world – through the UNESCO international convention against doping of which they are parties – that have the power to touch areas that sport cannot reach. Sport needs the active participation of governments in order to push anti-doping higher up the agenda.
Doping and its impact on public health is one area of increasing concern. Drugs are being illegally produced, trafficked and distributed across the world and, ultimately, getting into the hands of athletes and members of the public, too. If governments could introduce laws and penalties to stop this, there would be less risk of these dangerous substances reaching those playing elite and, increasingly, non-elite level sport.
There is also the matter of dietary supplements. We are hearing more and more about youngsters, and those working out in gyms and practicing sport at an amateur level, using supplements. We are seeing this problem become more normal in society, which is a huge worry. The supplement industry is a global industry and not something that Wada, nor sport, can tackle alone. If governments took appropriate action to regulate the supplement industry, it would be a huge stride in the right direction.
Above all, what is needed is better education. The tools are there to help educate athletes – and aspiring athletes – about the dangers of doping. Education is an area that is well emphasized for sport and anti-doping organizations to practice in the revised World Anti-Doping Code. Education needs to cover all matters, from the dangers associated with doping, to athlete rights and responsibilities when it comes to anti-doping, and preventative educational measures that explain to future generations why doping is the wrong option.
In Africa, we know that there are big challenges and opportunities for governments to deal with – health systems, housing crisis, poverty, inequality, unemployment, education, (socio-political realities), war and famine – but we shouldn’t forget what a powerful magnet sport is for society. Sport, and its fair play values, binds us together like nothing else. It is only with the support of governments that we can maintain the sporting values we all hold so dear.

Don’t Be A Dope

For thousands of years, humans have ground plants and animals to cure the sick. It was a time long before bread mould could also cure a headache. But these days, the tinctures and potions of old have taken a back seat to contemporary medicine.
Not so for complementary medicines in South Africa, an industry that is now worth $750 million, according to Peter Kreft, CEO of CoMED Health, who own brands Bioter Health and Natura, some of South Africa’s largest manufacturers of complementary medicine.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3214" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_8788-1024x683-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
This growth has now been stinted thanks to new regulations released by the South African government’s health regulators, the Medicines Control Council (MCC), since November 2013. The laws could mean as much as 50-60% of the industry having to take their cures off the shelves, says Kreft.
The MCC’s statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the National Department of Health that an increased number of so-called complementary medicines are being sold in the country which may pose significant risks to the South African public. For this reason the Minister of Health has called for the registration of these complementary medicines by amending the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act 101 of 1965) on 15 November 2013 making it a requirement for the MCC to evaluate and pronounce on the safety, quality and efficacy of these medicines.”
The MCC issued a deadline of February 15 for complementary medicines to place disclaimers on their products, as part of the first phase of the MCC’s revision process. This relabeling, according to Kreft, is not only costly to the industry but leaves very little room to market a product’s uses. The disclaimer will have to read that the product in question is yet to be evaluated by the MCC, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
“I think like most other companies, we’d be in trouble, because it would affect 20 percent to 30 percent of our turnover. And if you take 20 percent to 30 percent of our top line and look at the infrastructure that we need to keep going here – and we do our absolute best to be compliant with regards to regulatory requirements – we will no longer be able to do this and probably be faced with either amalgamating with others that could bring up the additional turnover and hence also a bottom line, or closing our doors which I would be very loath to do,” says Kreft.
For Danny Pillay, President of the Homeopathic Alliance of South Africa and a practising homeopathic doctor in Sandton, Johannesburg, the regulations are a much needed remedy.
“When you have someone committing to a safe manufacture process and then all of a sudden you have someone producing their goods in their backyard and selling it as a supplement, or a product.  That is endangering the public… The reality is there are far too many unregistered persons that are illegally practising and sometimes some quarters of industry provide the products,” says Pillay.
Pillay explains that the medicines claiming to be Schedule 2 or 3 drugs will be most affected. These are high-risk, prescription-only drugs that claim to treat cardiac, diabetic or dietary related conditions. Schedule 0 drugs (low risk, over-the-counter drugs which form the majority of complementary medicines) have less stringent requirements than higher risk drugs.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3213" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_8718-1024x683-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
“Because products were not registered as medicines previously, there has not been enough drive or need to provide medical proof. We are not talking randomized trials all the time but we need empirical proof showing that there are studies that see the value of these medicines… There is now some burden on the manufacturer when they make a claim on a drug that has a higher risk,” says Pillay.
The cost of regulated medicine may be hard for customers and manufacturers to swallow. What once cost manufacturers $190 to register a product, now costs $470 and as much as $1,300 for some products. This excludes the costs for providing clinical proof of a drug’s efficacy and safety.
In the meantime, customers may have to wait months or even years for their embargoed products, while the MCC re-evaluates and registers the backlog of thousands of drugs.
When FORBES AFRICA inquired into the dangers of professionals acting illegally and the dangers of illegal drugs on the market with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA), the statutory health body established to control all allied health professions, its response was in support of the MCC.
“In the view of the AHPCSA, complementary medicines, while generally safer than conventional medicine, can and do have potential for harm and adverse effects and therefore the AHPCSA has welcomed the regulation. The AHPCSA rejects the concept that a medicine is safe simply because it is ‘natural’. It should be noted that those AHPCSA professions that administer, dispense, or compound and dispense complementary medicines also complete a course in pharmacology so as to be in a position to understand conventional medicines, in particular the question of possible drug-interactions between complementary medicines and conventional medicines, both of which may exert physiological effects.”
There are critics who also believe the regulations infringe on a consumer’s rights and freedom of choice.
“[The MCC is ] free to advise, they are free to encourage, they are free to guide, they are free to say they don’t think homeopathic or complementary or traditional medicines work, but they are not free to interfere with the rights of consumers to decide for themselves. And I think this is where there’s a real breakdown of the paradigm in trust,” says Leon Louw, CEO of the Free Market Foundation.
Meanwhile the future of complementary medicine in South Africa hangs on a knife-edge. For the moment it’s still sick in bed waiting to see if it will rise with a healthy new body or missing some of its limbs.
&nbsp;
By date of print, the MCC were unavailable for comment.

Pills, Placebos and Profits

When the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) recently advised the real estate sector to start looking for alternative sources of funding as a way to prevent too much lending into the sector, it became apparent that the sector was going to face serious challenges. However, thanks to the recent introduction of the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in the country, the sector now has a new channel to raise capital through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Kenya has joined more than 30 countries worldwide that have embraced the REITs concept, which now boasts more than $1 trillion in market capitalization as at the end of 2013, up from $300 million in 2003.
The start of the new market which interestingly coincides with an ongoing real estate boom is set to help property developers access long term funds at cheaper rates, while providing retail investors with an opportunity to own landmark properties in the country, albeit a small stake. Supply is also expected to come from banks saddled with non-performing loans (NPLs) involving collateralized real estate. The latest data from the CBK shows that as at June 30, 2013, lending to the real estate sector by banks stood at Ksh194.9 billion ($2.3 billion) out of the Ksh1.45 trillion ($17 billion) in gross loans and advances made, an equivalent of 13%. The Kenyan government is also set to be an early participant as it seeks an alternative in its divestment of publicly-owned assets in order to finance its budget deficit.
As a pointer to its bright future, since the gazettement of the REITs regulations last year, two firms have been approved by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to operate as REIT managers. The National Social Security Fund (NSSF), one of the biggest property owners in the country, has also declared interest in the use of REITs to exit some of its real estate projects. Currently, the fund holds property estimated at Ksh33 billion ($388 million), which is 26% of its Ksh126 billion ($1.5 billion) worth of total assets. Overall demand from the wider pension industry is expected due to its preference for low risk and stable income investments. REIT stocks are known to give higher dividend yields and more stable returns than common stocks. Home Afrika, the only listed real estate developer, is also planning to raise up to Ksh2 billion ($23.5 million) through REITs to fund its infrastructure projects.
One of the challenges facing this fledgling market is the uncertainty over the direction of long term interest rates. A rise in rates would make REIT returns comparatively less attractive, and the market may face selling pressure as REITs borrowing costs rise. Existing and prospective managers will need to structure REITs that can offer attractive yields to investors. Nonetheless the stakeholders can take comfort in the fact that in the past 15 to 20 years, global returns in this sector have outperformed the broader markets. Three-year total returns ending 2012 stands at 38.6%. The lack of sophistication by local shareholders to trade securitized real estate is also another hurdle facing the market. However, though admitting that this could take a while to realize, history shows that REITs have eventually proven to be popular with investors who view stocks as too risky and bonds as not having enough yield.
With the annual demand for housing in the country outstripping supply by as much as 150,000 units, REITs are set to bridge this gap by increasing availability of housing, which is a priority area in Kenya’s development program, Vision 2030, in addition to increasing availability of commercial and residential real estate.
Moreover, the new market will help deepen Kenya’s capital markets and provide a gateway to middle Africa for regional and international capital flows. Ernst and Young’s Global Perspectives: 2013 REIT report recognizes that the global REIT industry has been a major participant in transaction markets in the last three years. Real Capital Analytics (RCA) estimates that REITs accounted for 14% of transactions by volume in 2012, and that percentage rose to 20% in the first half of 2013. Needless to say, Kenyan REITS are on a safe path to success. With Kenya’s robust growth expected to be between 4 and 5% in the next few years, Kenya’s real estate sector is surely going to be an attractive option.

GET REAL

Firms like to talk about investing in Africa. But what they are really looking at is a jumble of 54 sovereign countries, with their own laws, regulations, cultures and languages. Only a few people are knowledgeable about all the countries. Among them is Riaan Manser.
Forty-year-old Manser grew up in Richard’s Bay, on South Africa’s east coast, where he spent most of his childhood roaming the outdoors. He studied human resources because he wanted to work with people. Manser took a job with private healthcare provider Prime Cure in Cape Town, selling insurance.
“One Sunday afternoon, I realized I wasn’t completely happy. I did my job just to make money. I decided my life was going to be much more than that. I made the decision to change my life,” he says.
A year later, in 2003, Manser mounted his bicycle and went on a 26-month ride across Africa, peddling 37,000 kilometers through 34 countries. He got to know Africa and its people slowly, learning important lessons in life.
“When I left South Africa, I wasn’t very organized. I had zero visas in my passport. I had to negotiate everywhere I went. I would have to remain calm and negotiate in extremely stressful situations, when I was freaking out inside,” he says.
With every country he explored, Manser came to understand different cultures and dynamics, over time he  developed exceptional people skills. He gained wisdom that can only come with experience and, as he firmly believes, trial and error.
“I want people to understand that success comes from failure. We like to learn from other people’s mistakes very much, but the problem is that you normally don’t learn as astutely as you would if you learnt on your own. You’re generally most successful if you are willing to take a calculated risk.”
His insights have attracted the attention of numerous major multi-nationals from the mining, retail and financial services sectors, which Manser—who meanwhile also paddled 5,000 kilometers around politically unstable Madagascar and circumnavigated Iceland—now consults on how to expand into remote parts of Africa. Among them are mining giant Anglo American Platinum, heavy machinery manufacturer Bell Equipment, South African supermarket chain Shoprite and Zurich Bank International.
“I speak to CEOs but also to staff, who will be deployed to African countries, telling them what they can expect on the ground—be it regarding infrastructure, cultural issues, bribing or how to make business decisions in a foreign cultural context,” he says.
Manser, who remarkably never paid a single bribe during his adventures, says integrity, morality and patience are the keys to unlocking Africa’s potential.
“You must make [it] clear upfront that there is no room for negotiation about bribes. The most important thing is not to seem desperate. Desperation can be smelled a mile away. Even when I was panicking inside, I didn’t show one ounce of desperation,” he says.
Instead of paying kickbacks to smooth the rocky road of expansion, companies, especially those exploring natural resources, should focus on building good relationships with both national governments and local communities, suggests Manser.
“It’s vital that companies stop regarding Africa as a place where you can just take out resources. There has to be some giving… a generator for a village, digging a well. Communities don’t want to hear promises of better infrastructure five years down the line. They want to see improvements to their lives right away,” he says.
Manser knows how customs officials must be approached in Ghana compared to Angola, how to deal with government departments in Nigeria and how to open negotiations in Mauritania. Although his advice often seems almost obvious, at least in hindsight, it’s based on insights that can only be gained from having been there and having done it.
Patience, however, is key to commercial success in almost all African countries, says Manser.
“Don’t rush people. Don’t try to bulldoze them. The humility that comes through patience will lead to trust and ultimately to respect for each other. It’s the basis for building good relationships,” he says.
But the decision to be patient can’t be made in a boardroom. It’s something managers have to learn in a foreign context, on a day-to-day basis, says Manser.
Another key requirement for successful expansion is selecting the right people to do the job, Manser believes. In the small island nation of Madagascar, that has been experiencing years of political turmoil after a coup d’état in 2009, consolidation is seen as much more important than expansion.
“People just want stability. They want short discussions with firm results. So whoever negotiates on behalf of your company needs to know that,” he says.
In the end, it all comes down to good leadership: a lesson—and probably the most difficult one—Manser learnt when his travel partner Dan Skinstad, who has mild cerebral palsy, fell out of the boat when they circumnavigated Iceland in a two-man kayak, and almost drowned in the icy waters.
“You need clarity of thought in difficult situations. If there is a crisis, you have to make a decision with clarity, not in a panic. You take stock of what you promised, of what you want to achieve and then implement what is necessary to get you there,” says Manser.
Good leaders acknowledge other leaders. When Manser returned from Africa, former president Nelson Mandela was so impressed with his feat, he requested a meeting with him, saying Manser was an inspiration to the continent. Manser has made that his goal.

Tag: regulations

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Mining Charter Back To Square 26

Too Much Room In The Inn

The $809-Million Question

Don’t Be A Dope

Pills, Placebos and Profits

GET REAL

Two Wheels Two Years 34 Countries 37,000km