CHIEF EXECUTIVES REVIEW S tr a t egy and s tructur e R oger Baxt er CEO Miner als C ouncil South A frica T he impact of the spr ead of C O VID 19 will be f elt int ensely b y our c ountry f or a long time t o c ome A t the time of writing these e v ents w er e s till de v eloping so I will not a tt empt t o of er an y perspectiv es on them other than t o sa y tha t the impact of the spr ead of the disease and South A frica s lock do wn will be f elt int ensely b y our indus try and our c ountry f or a long time t o c ome As I r efect on the e v ents of 20 19 these r efections need t o be seen as an a tt empt t o adher e t o annual r outines in a w orld wher e normal r outine no longer seems t o apply E c onomic crisis As it is w ell bef or e the C O VID 19 disas t er s truck our indus try and South A frica w er e alr eady f acing a r ange of se v er e crises A t the f or efr ont of these w er e the br oader ec onomic and fscal crises tha t w er e being e x ac erba t ed b y Esk om s po w er insecurity and debt challenges the la tt er of which had a ma t erial impact on mining pr oduction during 20 19 T hese f act ors also set up the e v entual Mar ch 20 20 decision b y Moody s t o withdr a w South A frica s las t in v es tment gr ade r a ting as set b y the t op thr ee r a tings agencies T he Miner als C ouncil had been w a t ching car efully and anxiously thr ough the y ear f or signs tha t go v ernment w as r eady t o addr es s the ec onomic crisis with the seriousnes s it deserv ed W hile a degr ee of lip servic e w as paid t o it r egr ettably neither the Oct ober Medium T erm Budget P olic y S ta t ement MTBPS the F ebruary Pr esident s S ta t e of the Na tion A ddr es s SONA nor the F ebruary 20 19 20 Budget t ook sufcient action Nor did the plans thr ough the y ear of the Department of T r ade and Indus try In es senc e the critical s tructur al r ef orms nec es sary t o turn the ec onomic tide t o enable gr ea t er priv a t e sect or c ompetition and in v es tment in the ec onom y w er e not implement ed as go v ernment clung ont o an out da t ed s ta t e c ontr olled model which c ombined with c orruption and unethical leadership ar e mos tly r esponsible f or the ec onomic malaise tha t South A frica is in T her e w as one r a y of light in the Na tional T r easury s E c onomic tr ansf orma tion inclusiv e gr o wth and c ompetitiv enes s plan But while it a v oided r ejection it w asnt sufciently embr ac ed either Ho w e v er not until the 20 20 21 Budget with its pr oposal t o dr as tically cut s ta t e emplo yment spending and the w armer embr ac e of the Na tional T r easury plan did w e see an ything appr oaching the action tha t w as needed And particularly with the nega tiv e union r ec eption of the Budget plans it w as t oo little t oo la t e T hese crises did pr ompt a ne w appr oach b y the Miner als C ouncil and b y or ganised busines s in gener al t o w ar ds engagement with go v ernment on these ma tt ers T he Miner als C ouncil w as a critical part of engagement with and betw een the other t op busines s as socia tions Busines s Unity South A frica Busines s L eadership South A frica the Black Busines s C ouncil the As socia tion f or Sa vings and In v es tment South A frica and the Banking As socia tion of South A frica t o w ar ds the end of 20 19 and in early 20 20 t o ensur e a mor e as sertiv e and pr ogr es siv e appr oach b y or ganised busines s in 20 20 t o setting the ec onomic agenda I am sur e it is the case f or all of us tha t when w e r efect on the e v ents of 20 19 it is impos sible t o clear fr om our minds the unpr ec edent ed and fright ening C O VID 19 e v ents tha t began t o afict our w orld fr om Dec ember 20 19 and pr of oundly fully ent er ed our c onsciousnes ses and liv es fr om F ebruary 20 20 P age 30