On the other hand, politicians and tourism
bodies seem to agree that most foreign
investors just worry about return on
investment and don’t care too much
about morality and dirty politics. They
also feel that tourists are more interested in the weak
rand and cheap holidays than corruption and whether
or not the Dalai Lama is allowed to visit.
Interestingly – or would that be ironically or even sadly
enough? – brand experts have been quite happy to put
their names to their convictions about the poor state
of Brand South Africa while those who believe that foreign tourists and investors don’t really care about questionable governance, fraud or human rights, have only spoken out under a cloak of anonymity.

Professor Emeritus at Wits University and MD of brand valuation company BrandMetrics Roger Sinclair says that “if you discount the financial crisis, which is not exclusive to SA, I’m not sure what might
cause the trouble. “When Jeremy Clarkson raves about our wines and
says Johannesburg is one of the safest cities in the
world and that he walked through Soweto waving his
Nikon around his head and nothing happened and
we have Matt Damon playing rugby and cycling in
Cape Town and the New York Times and Vancouver
Sun running stories eulogising our wines, how much
trouble can there be? “
He added; “But there is. “Why do we always back
the wrong side?” He gave the example of South
Africa refusing to back the arrest warrant for
Sudanese president Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir.
Our record in Zimbabwe is shocking and yet former
president Thabo Mbeki is seen as a saviour. We have
ruined that poor guy Tsvangirai.
“I fear for the new cabinet, not because of (Zuma)
but because of the people he has surrounded himself
with and to whom he probably owes his (current)
freedom.
“Cape Town restaurants have still not learned
that tourists want good food, good service at a
reasonable price. Most are weak on all three.
“Otherwise, the variables I used for the valuation
of the nation’s brand have not changed much. Our
competitiveness position remains pathetic and
we have achieved little in employment, health and
education that would have changed our lowly position
on those measures.
“In summary: South Africa is in no more trouble than it
has been for 10 years and that is an indictment.”
Independent tourism marketer, Capeinfo.com’s
Carl Momberg, said that from the “high of Nelson
Mandela and the first democratic elections of 1994,
South Africa became a global role model. Then came Mbeki, who still earned some international
respect but became a bit of a joke with his
denialism on HIV/Aids, crime and so forth.
And now we have the prospect of someone
who is plundering the public purse to pay for
his legal fees and security costs…
“Brand South Africa is how we are
perceived and the perception is
one of corruption and administrative
incompetence. Even Britain has lowered
the portcullis and South Africans now
need visas to visit there!
“Is it only Switzerland that still doesn’t
require a visa and is that to cater
for the cash outflows of a banana
republic? One must start wondering
how big the difference between SA’s
and Zimbabwe’s politicians really is
– Mugabe doesn’t care while ours
still pay shallow lip service.
“There are two sides to South Africa
– the one is represented by Mandela,
Tutu, Zille and all those who hold the
moral high ground. The other has Zuma,
Boesak, the noveau riche who benefited
from BEE and all those who represent
greedy opportunism and the moral low
ground.
“The only hope for Brand South Africa is a
return to ubuntu, something that is our own
and something we can be proud of. But that
requires new leaders who will show the way.
“What’s the bottom line? Politics and
branding make for poor bedfellows because
politicians have their own devious agendas.”
Group executive chairman of Interbrand
Sampson Jeremy Sampson disagrees.
“In the UK right now, it’s all doom and
gloom while back here in South Africa we
have retail groups such as Shoprite posting
excellent results and our restaurants are full.
“We have got so much to be thankful for. We
have got so much going for us, a hell of a lot
better than anyone else.”
Samson added that the Confederations
Cup, the Lions Rugby Tour and 2010 World
Cup all added positively to the country’s
brand image.
“Brand South Africa is not in trouble.”
Many tourism operators who did not want
to be named (I wonder why?) agreed that
it was important for brand South Africa for
the positive aspects of this country to be
highlighted in terms of luring tourists and
foreign investors.
Opposition politicians who were involved
in hectic hustings at the time of writing,
firmly believed Brand South Africa was
in deep and desperate trouble and would
suffer badly from a Zuma image tarnished
by allegations of fraud and corruption,
the Zimbabwe issue, high unemployment,
poverty and a patent disregard to human
rights over the Dalai Lama issue.
ANC politicians predictably saw things
completely differently and claimed that
this country would not have been given
the privilege of hosting the 2010 World
Cup, the Indian IPL cricket league,
the Confederations Cup and a host of
other international sporting and social
gatherings, if its brand image was not held
in high esteem.
Former International Marketing Council
CEO and marketer Yvonne
Johnston disagrees and says
that Brand South Africa is
indeed in trouble.
She said that the “principal
portrayal of a brand” was
leadership and “if leadership is
not behaving with integrity, then
(the country’s) brand will have no
integrity itself.”
She said that, for example,
the behaviour of ANC Youth
League leader Julius Malema
would most certainly negatively
affect tourism and foreign investment.
“Government needs to portray the country in
terms of truth in the way it presents itself to
the outside world.”
But, most importantly, there was one issue
upon which everyone tended to agree, even
grudgingly, from some elements of the ANC.
Crime unchecked and rampant would be
the single biggest cause of the demise of
Brand South Africa. Foreign tourists don’t
like crime and neither do investors because
that is the one thing that has the potential of
affecting them directly and personally.

Chris Moerdyk is a big brand SA fan but like
most has his concerns.