Drawing on her experience of spending the past five years moving between South Africa and the UK, she argued that the country\u2019s economic direction and policy choices have eroded its attractiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wierzycka explained that her recent return to South Africa has reinforced her concerns about the state of the UK economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just come back to South Africa and the UK government is uninvestable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that the scale of welfare dependence is alarming for investors, suggesting that even relatively common conditions qualify people for assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve got an anxiety disorder, you can get social benefits\u201d. For Wierzycka, this signals deep structural challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Wierzycka, the combined effect of Brexit and a swollen benefits system is a shortage of available labour and a weakened economic base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pointed out the difficulty of finding skilled workers, particularly in sectors such as construction. \u201cIt\u2019s an economy that has been completely destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wierzycka argued that the policy environment has deteriorated further under the current political leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She stressed that the Labour Party has just come into power in the UK, warning that this means \u201cfour more years of this mismanagement of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her view, this outlook should give investors serious pause. \u201cA scary country\u2014wouldn\u2019t touch with a bargepole<\/strong>,\u201d Wierzycka said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By contrast, she finds South Africa more compelling from an investment and business perspective despite its well-known challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan Oppenheimer, scion of the family that built Anglo American Plc and De Beers into global mining powerhouses, also called the UK uninvestable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo long as the UK takes 30 years to do a nine-month project, it\u2019s uninvestable,\u201d said Oppenheimer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wierzycka first considered moving back to South Africa at the beginning of the year due to the UK\u2019s new tax laws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The laws form part of the UK\u2019s overhaul of its tax treatment of non-domiciled residents, or \u201cnon-doms\u201d, announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the existing regime, non-doms who have lived in the UK for fewer than 15 of the previous 20 years can legally shield their foreign income and assets from UK tax by placing them in trusts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These structures allow non-doms to avoid paying tax in the UK on wealth already taxed elsewhere, as long as the money remains offshore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But under the new rules, these trusts will be taxed like any other, including any income or gains from foreign sources, even if those have already been taxed in another jurisdiction, such as South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wierzyka previously expressed her dismay with the changes, saying that they deter investment in the country and make no sense to bring more money in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wierzycka was born in Poland in 1969. Her family fled to Austria in 1982 due to Poland\u2019s economic collapse and political turmoil, and arrived in South Africa in 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She completed her schooling at Pretoria High School for Girls before enrolling at the University of Cape Town, where she studied actuarial science on a bursary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wierzycka is an incredibly successful South African businesswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUK\u2019s overhaul of its tax treatment of non-doms is also a problem <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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