Ramaphosa: 'Don't be discouraged by lacklustre economic growth'

JOHANNESBURG — President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the now-annual pre-WEF briefing that happens each year before our politicians fly over to Davos. This year's pre-WEF meet was a very different one to the one I attended last year. For starters, the venue was different. Last year, it was held in one of the big ballrooms in the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sandton - this time it was held in a much smaller venue in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosebank. I was told that Ramaphosa prefers the Crowne Plaza as it's closer to his home in Hyde Park (I don't know how true this is as I imagine he's equidistance between both hotels). Nevertheless, another major difference was that this time last year we still had Malusi Gigababa as FinMin. These days, we have Tito Mboweni who slipped in late to the pre-WEF briefing in Rosebank on Wednesday and quietly sat in the back, unassuming. But lastly, the major difference that I observed was that Ramaphosa this year looked much more tired - last year he had a skip in his step amid Ramaphoria. Regardless, he's still a good speaker and very much provides the rational perspective on things. - Gareth van Zyl