[This is very fascinating. First National Bank has long been known to be “the ANC’s Banker”. They were the first bank to climb into bed with the ANC, under white rule. FNB is very much for the New South Africa. FNB *NEVER* criticises or behaves in a negative way towards the Govt.

FNB is a bank that has a long history of excellent marketing. It is most interesting that someone this senior in FNB decided to pour R20 million into the whole anti-crime thing. They did it, without a shadow of a doubt, NOT to attack Mbeki nor to criticise the ANC but to reflect the massive unhappiness as MEGA CRIME rips this country to pieces.

What is interesting are the bogus and rubbish arguments used by the ANC (e.g. it will negatively impact on the ANC succession battle or even the insinuation that the bank is directly attacking Mbeki).

Note too, it was clear that FNB would be spearheading something that was expected to have a MASSIVE impact on society and that vast numbers of people would support it. FNB’s R20 million campaign could indeed have given massive impetus to something in this country.

But… look at how JITTERY the rest of the business community was about it! FNB was committing no crime in any of what it was doing. This is just another case of the ANC walking up to someone and whispering things in their ear so that everyone stays quiet and everyone lives the same lie together.

No doubt big business wants Mbeki to win in the ANC succession battle rather than hardcore commie Zuma. But will he? Is Mbeki “Our Great Black hope” with feet of clay and any criticism of him has to be stopped incase he topples over and falls apart? I don’t care. I think it is a weak-willed attitude.

I must say this, one should take one’s hat off to Paul Harris for pushing this. If his head rolls, then it will be a tremendous blow to this country that when someone tries to show some initiative… in the greater interests of this nation… that he is kicked down. He bowed to the “collective will” – and the collective will in any society at any time, waters things down and PREVENTS ANYTHING DECISIVE AND KICK-ASS BEING ACHIEVED! Jan]

Why bank chickened out of crime showdown with Mbeki

Presidential envoys and other big companies put pressure on FNB.

First National Bank cancelled a daring anti-crime initiative that was designed to spur President Thabo Mbeki into making crime his number one priority.

At 3.30pm on Friday, FirstRand banking chief executive Paul Harris and his executive pulled out of the R20-million campaign, which would have been the boldest attempt by big business to influence government.

At the eleventh hour ” after commissioning print, television and radio adverts highlighting the campaign ” FNB management abruptly canned it.

The bank had commissioned 2.8 million pamphlets containing a patriotic message on the concern about crime. Attached to each was an envelope addressed to Mbeki. Postage had already been paid.

Stories from people affected by crime were to be collected by the bank and delivered to the President.

The Sunday Times has established that officials from the Presidency and the government™s security cluster met FNB management on Friday after learning of the campaign.

They informed FNB management of the sensitivities of a campaign aimed at the President, especially in light of the ANC™s succession battle.

Harris and his colleagues also came under pressure from other business leaders who felt the campaign would damage the business community™s engagements with the government on crime.

Harris refused to say who from government had spoken to the bankers. Government spokesman Themba Maseko labelled the campaign as œincitement against Mbeki.

œPositioning themselves as an opposition party is not appropriate … Trying to incite people to behave in a certain way towards the head of state cannot be condoned, Maseko said.

Harris, meanwhile, took full responsibility for the campaign and the consequences. Asked if heads would roll, he said: œMy head? Maybe … me as the head of it. I made this bed and I™ll sleep on it. I™m ready for the consequences if there are any.

Harris said the concept of the campaign had been around for a long time, but it was given momentum by the death of Anglo-Zulu War historian David Rattray last week.

œIf you™re head of a bank and you have had … how many bloody bank robberies … It™s terrible. There are trauma counselling units and all types of things. Our staff is being traumatised every day. They are in the front line, he said.

Mbeki, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula and National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi have all publicly denied that crime is out of control.

When asked if the bank had discussed the campaign with the government on Friday, Harris said: œI don™t want to talk about who we spoke to other than to say it was a broad range of all stakeholders ” all people that we felt could in some way be impacted on by this.

The feedback had been that the public response would be strong, but that there would be œother outcomes or consequences.

œAt the end of the day, I think I went with what the collective view was, Harris said.

The pamphlet is addressed œto every proud South African concerned about crime and includes a letter to Mbeki saying: œDear Mr President … Concerned because even though I live in the most prosperous country in Africa, our crime rates are the highest on the continent, far outstripping the poorest African countries…

On Wednesday morning the 2.8 million glossy inserts containing the letters were printed by Kagiso BM at its presses in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Managing director Tom Jones confirmed that at least 1000 people had been involved in the process, which included manually attaching an envelope to each pamphlet.

The adverts were distributed to media houses on Friday, but none were inserted in newspapers after the campaign was canned. The bank will pay all the costs involved.

Speaking to the Sunday Times from London, Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, who has been calling for a crime summit, said it appeared that the bank had bowed to political pressure.

œThe value of a single life is far more important and more valuable than an institution falling out of favour with government, she said.

FNB, like all the country™s big banks, holds valuable government accounts, including those of the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and North West provinces and also, according to its website, the Department of Finance, the Unemployment Insurance Fund, Telkom, Transnet, Parliament, the SA Post Office and the South African Revenue Service.

DA leader Tony Leon said the debacle reflected badly on both the government and the bank. œIf it is true that they backed down under pressure, it reflects badly. It is strange that such a lion in the financial sector can turn into a mouse when pressure is put on it by government.

In his briefing to editors on Tuesday, Harris presented a document explaining the rationale behind the campaign. It sought to œencourage the President to provide strong leadership by making the right signals and to help him put his crime strategy œin perspective and clarify any misconceptions.

Under the heading of communication and leadership it called for Mbeki to œnail your colours to the mast by taking accountability. The full strategy document can be read on www.sundaytimes.co.za.

It also called for Mbeki to allocate more money to fight crime and spend more on training and paying the police, as well as investing in technology œsuch as satellite surveillance systems, a national fingerprinting system and computerised police dockets systems.

In the television advert, the bank stated: œLike you, Mr President, we believe in South Africa. But it will all come to nothing unless you make crime our nation™s number one priority. TNS Research Surveys, a national research company, found that amongst the country™s 12.4 million urban families, one million said someone close to them had been robbed or burgled during the last six months of 2006.

Findings in the report, The State of South Africans 2007, which was released today, also included:

200 000 households reported direct experience of murder in the same period;

150 000 families said someone close had been raped; and

500 000 reported either a car theft or a hijacking in their immediate circle.

Source: The Sunday Times
URL: http://www.suntimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Articl…/p>