VENTURES AFRICA – South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth’s attack on the country’s exchange controls could “pull the whole system down”, with the entrepreneur being described as a “financial refugee” by the Reserve Bank.

Shuttleworth had assets worth more than ZAR4.2 billion ($422 million) when he left the country for the Isle of Man tax haven in the United Kingdom. While transferring his fortune out of the country in 2008 and 2009, he had to pay a 10 percent levy.

The founder of Canonical, the firm behind the Ubuntu project, took the South African government to court in a bid to have the exchange control system declared unconstitutional, the South African Press Agency reported.

Shuttleworth is also demanding the South African Reserve Bank return the ZAR250 million ($2.5 million) he paid in 2009.

Gilbert Marcus SC, Shuttleworth’s advocate, said on Monday: “One of the founding principles of a parliamentary democracy is that there should be no taxation without representation and that the executive branch of government should not itself be entitled to raise revenue for its operation, but should rather be dependent on the taxing power of parliament which is democratically accountable to the tax-paying public.“[The Reserve Bank] claims because the levy is only imposed on a small part of the population it does not qualify as tax.”

Tim Harris MP, the Democratic Alliance’s shadow minister for finance, told HumanIPO last month the government should drop its remaining exchange controls in a bid to attract more foreign investment to the country and create a more conducive environment for entrepreneurs and startups.

But Jeremy Gauntlett SC, representing the Reserve Bank, does not agree and described a Shuttleworth victory as being “the most radical court order imaginable”.

Gauntlett said: “If the applicant succeeds in striking down section nine of the Currency Act and declaring all orders and rules unconstitutional, there would be no inhibition on removing capital from this country at all. Section nine is the heart of the exchange control system and he wants to knock [it] down.”

He added: “He couldn’t get his money out of the country. Now he wants to pull the whole system down. Why should this financial refugee, living on the Isle of Man, speak on behalf of the entirety of South African society?”

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This is in keeping with an announcement Ramaphosa made last month shortly after he was elected deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC) at its national conference in Mangaung in December.

Last month, Ramaphosa promised to review his existing positions, responsibilities and obligations to address any “potential conflicts of interest”

“This will allow me to ensure that I can adequately perform the responsibilities of my new position,” he said at the time.

This week Lonmin said: “As planned and previously announced, Cyril Ramaphosa, a non-executive director of the company, retired from the board at the conclusion of the annual general meeting (AGM) held yesterday (Thursday).”

In October last year, the Farlam Commission, which is investigating the Marikana shooting, heard that Ramaphosa allegedly said in an e-mail that the events around the five-week stoppage by Lonmin workers were criminal acts.

The legal team representing Marikana miners revealed this at hearings being held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre.

On the eve of the Marikana shooting, he allegedly told management and Ramaphosa will also be stepping down as joint chairman of both Mondi and Mondi at its AGM in May.

Ramaphosa is also a director of SABMiller, the Standard Bank Group and a number of smaller companies.

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The key challenge entrepreneurs continue to grapple with is finding ambitious and talented employees who can bring the CEO’s vision to life. It is against this backdrop that LEAP Africa is inviting CEOs in Nigeria to its 7th CEO’s Forum themed “Addressing the CEO’s Human Resources Challenge.”

According to a Press Release, the CEO’s Forum, which is funded by Ford Foundation, typically draws approximately 800 entrepreneurs from across LEAP’s alumni network, as well as leading CEOs in Nigeria.

LEAP Africa’s CEO’s Forum is a unique platform for entrepreneurs, CEOs and managers in the public and private sectors to interact, discuss and share insights on business sustainability and succession planning. Over the past ten years, through its Business Leadership Programme and CEO’s Forum, LEAP has inspired, empowered and equipped over 3, 300 entrepreneurs. The CEO’s Forum exposes business owners to the importance of planning for their succession and instituting effective systems, structures and values within their organization to ensure long term sustainability. In turn, many of these beneficiaries implement changes that transform their organizations.

“We strongly believe that the participants at the Forum will benefit immensely from the wealth of experiences of our speakers,” the release stated.

For this edition, the speakers for the event are:

• Mr. Tosin Runsewe; Chief Client Officer, Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc.

• Mrs. Nike De Souza; Managing Director, People Temp Limited

• Mr. Rob Mollien; President, Together Safe, Netherlands

• Mr. Emiel Lensen; Expert on Social Media and Business, Netherlands

Details of the CEOs Forum are as follows:

• Date: May 24, 2012

• Time: 10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.

• Location: City Hall, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos Island, Lagos

To register, please call 08185795362 or 01-270-6541/2 or email ohenshaw@leapafrica.org.

The post LEAP Africa To Hold CEO’s Forum, Launch Its Sixth Book- “Attract, Motivate and Retain Top Talent” appeared first on Ventures Africa | .