Discovery CEO Adrian Gore’s positive message for South Africa

Public-private partnerships can work well and are the key to fixing South Africa’s problems, which are not insurmountable and can be effectively addressed. 

This is a message from Discovery CEO Adrian Gore, who outlined how South Africa can unlock significant progress in dealing with its major challenges. 

Gore pointed to the success of Discovery’s Pothole Patrol initiative in Johannesburg, which has repaired over 320,000 potholes since its launch in 2021. 

The patrol was launched as a partnership between Discovery, the City of Johannesburg, and Dial Direct. Dial Direct has since been replaced by Avis. 

“What this case study shows is that public-private partnerships can work and work well,” Gore explained in a social media post. 

“Contrary to the popular belief that our problems are here to stay, we can fix things that seem insurmountable. Yes, our city is full of challenges and neglect that need to be dealt with – and business is committed to doing its part.” 

Gore explained that such progress, even on a relatively small issue, begins to shift the needle in terms of the narrative and sentiment surrounding South Africa. 

“On a more individualistic behavioural level, fixing our roads provides hope and agency. Apart from the savings achieved by filling potholes, by far the biggest benefit was the psychological relief it brought, as people saw that things can be turned around,” he said. 

Pointing to the ‘broken windows’ theory of policing, Gore said visible signs of decay create an environment for further deterioration and disorder. 

“When people see chronically broken roads and crumbling infrastructure, it creates a perception of inevitable decline and leads to an attitude of defeat and apathy,” Gore said. 

When visible signs of decay are addressed, it generates agency as people feel they are part of a broader movement to improve and restore their city. 

“The work we have done on fixing potholes has provided me with a window on how to catalyse national change,” Gore said. 

“When we focus on solutions, we unlock action and progress, creating positive signals that restore hope and remind all of us that our city and country are worth fighting for.”

Narrative is key

Gore has previously bemoaned the negative narrative and sentiment that surrounds South Africa, saying that changing this is crucial to reviving the country’s economy. 

A positive narrative and sentiment have the potential to create a flywheel effect, whereby physical signs of progress create positive sentiment, which then feeds into further investment and improvement. 

In a previous interview with Daily Investor, Gore said it is vital for the narrative around South Africa to change from one of perpetual decline to one of realistic optimism. 

Gore said optimism is important for any economy to grow and plays a key role in shifting the narrative around the country. 

In this sense, it is vital for the economy to grow faster, even just at 2% to 3%, as that will be enough for things to “feel” better than they were. 

The growth does not have to be dramatic, Gore explained, adding that even that level of growth will feel different compared to the stagnation of the past decade. 

He said South Africa has always had a very strong job coefficient, meaning that when the economy grows, jobs are created in line with this growth. 

Gore said that for every percentage point of economic growth, the South African economy increases employment by between 0.5% and 0.7%. This level of economic growth will also boost sentiment among South Africans and foreigners. 

Gore said the narrative surrounding the country is both causal and responsive to economic growth.

“We have got to try and ditch the sense that the country is in inevitable decline. The current thought is that no matter what happens, it will revert to decline. I think that stops investment,” he said. 

“And so, if you can create a different narrative with economic growth, you will see people on the street feeling more positive and businesses investing more. The narrative in our country is always worse than it really is.” 

“I think if you change that narrative and give us some confidence with the economic growth, you will see a massive transfer of benefit to the ordinary person, and then you get a kind of a flywheel effect.”

Gore is playing a significant role in the partnership between big business and the government, with the aim of hitting 3% GDP growth in the coming years. 

Economic growth drives job creation and shifts the narrative – and a shift in the narrative leads to more growth and investment, creating a virtuous cycle.

“I think it is amazing. It shows what South Africans can do with a clear focus – gigawatts on the grid and megatonnes through the logistics network. This is a testament to both the government and business,” he said.  

Gore said this exemplifies how quickly things can be changed and how South Africa’s decline can be reversed. 

“The GNU is a very, very big step. I think South Africa has an amazing set of attributes – the manifestation of this is the GNU,” he said. 

“There is a lot still to do, and risks are associated with it, but we are moving in the right direction.”