There are 51 South Africans attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting held in Davos this week, including eight government officials.
The WEF’s annual meeting, at the Swiss mountain resort of Davos from January 22-25, brings together thousands of high-profile delegates in business, finance and governance from around the globe.
Joining the government delegates are high profile CEOs and leaders from some of South Africa’s biggest companies and financial institutions, including Naspers chairman, Koos Bekker; Barclays Africa CEO, Maria Ramos, Nedbank chief exec Mike Brown and billionaire, Patrice Mostsepe.
The 2015 meeting is hosting over 2,800 delegates this year, up from 2,600 in 2014. South Africa had 40 delegates attending last year, 10 of which were government officials.
South Africa would have had 53 representatives this year, but Eskom announced on Monday (19 January) that it would withdraw from the meeting.
Eskom had previously confirmed that two executives – chairperson Zola Tsotsi and group executive for sustainability Steve Lennon- would be attending Davos this year after CEO, Tshediso Matona pulled out of the event on 9 January.
The reported cost per delegate to attend the meeting is $20,000 (R230,000), with estimates by CNN Money pegging the total cost (with hotels, food and other activities) closer to $40,000 (R460,000) per head.
Based on this estimate, South Africa’s total Davos bill could be as high as $2 million (R23 million) – R3.7 million for government officials alone.
Here is the full list of South Africans attending the meeting, according to Quartz.
Government (8 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Jacob G. Zuma | South Africa | President |
| Aaron Motsoaledi | South Africa | Minister of Health |
| Ebrahim Patel | South Africa | Minister of Economic Development |
| Jeff Radebe | South Africa | Minister in the Presidency |
| Lesetja Kganyago | South Africa | Governor of the South Africa Reserve Bank |
| Ngoako Abel Ramathlodi | South Africa | Minister of Mineral Resources |
| Nhlanhla Musa Nene | South Africa | Minister of Finance |
| Rob Davies | South Africa | Minister of Trade and Industry |
State-owned enterprises (4 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Brian Molefe | Transnet SOC Ltd | Group Chief Executive |
| Linda Mabaso | Transnet SOC Ltd | Chair of the Board |
| Sipho Maseko | Telkom SA SOC Limited | Group Chief Executive |
| Jabu A. Mabuza | Telkom SA SOC Limited | Chairman |
Development (7 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Charles Kie | Corporate and Investment Bank, Ecobank Transnational Inc. | Group Executive |
| Charlotte Maponya | Brand South Africa | Chairman of the Board of Trustees |
| Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah | Civicus: World Alliance for Citizen Participation | Secretary-General |
| Geoffrey Qhena | Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd | Chief Executive Officer |
| Jabulani Moleketi | Development Bank of Southern Africa | Chairman of the Board of Directors |
| Patrick Khulekani Dlamini | Development Bank of Southern Africa | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director |
| Thero Setiloane | Business Leadership South Africa | Chief Executive Officer |
Financials (11 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Fani Titi | Investec Ltd | Chairman |
| Laurie L. Dippenaar | FirstRand Ltd | Chairman |
| Mike Brown | Nedbank Group | Chief Executive Officer |
| Maria Ramos | Barclays Africa Group Ltd | Chief Executive Officer |
| Nomkhita Nqweni | Barclays Africa Group Ltd | Chief Executive, Wealth and Investment Management |
| Stephen van Coller | Barclays Africa Group Ltd | Chief Executive, Corporate and Investment Banking |
| Nicolaas Kruger | MMI Holdings Limited | Chief Executive Officer |
| Nku Nyembezi-Heita | JSE Ltd | Chairman Designate |
| Ralph Mupita | Old Mutual | South Africa and Emerging Markets |
| Simpiwe K. Tshabalala | The Standard Bank Group Ltd | Joint Chief Executive Officer |
| Thabo Dloti | Liberty Holdings | Chief Executive Officer |
Resources (5 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Andries Jacobus Wilkens | African Rainbow Minerals | Executive Director, Growth and Strategic Development |
| Patrice Motsepe | African Rainbow Minerals | Founder and Executive Chairman |
| David E. Constable | Sasol Ltd | President and Chief Executive Officer |
| Mandla Gantsho | Sasol Ltd | Chairman |
| Kgosi Leruo T. Molotlegi | Royal Bafokeng Administration | Executive Chairman |
Business (3 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Iqbal Survé | Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd | Executive Chairman |
| Mark Bowman | SABMiller | Managing Director, Africa |
| Peter H. Staude | Tongaat Hulett Ltd | Chief Executive Officer |
Education (3 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Anton du Plessis | Institute for Security Studies | Managing Director |
| Max Price | University of Cape Town | Vice-Chancellor |
| Zeblon Vilakazi | University of the Witwatersrand | Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research |
Media (5 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Alec Hogg | CNBC Africa | Anchor, Power Lunch |
| Bronwyn Nielsen | CNBC Africa | Senior Anchor and Executive Director |
| Ellis Mnyandu | Independent Media | Editor, Business Report and Group Executive |
| Koos Bekker | Naspers Ltd | Chairman Designate |
| Trevor Ncube | Mail & Guardian | Deputy Executive Chairman |
Other (5 delegates)
| Name | Company | Role |
| Anne Githuku-Shongwe | Afroes Transformational Games | Founder and Chief Executive Officer |
| Duncan Luke | SPONSORME Trust | Founder |
| Frank Beadle de Palomo | mothers2mothers | President and Chief Executive Officer |
| Peter Fearnhead | African Parks Network | Chief Executive Officer |
| Thabo Cecil Makgoba | Anglican Church of Southern Africa | Archbishop and Metropolitan |
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