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In an interview in Cape Town with CNBC, Jennings said he welcomed an appeal of the deal by the government, which follows that of UNI affiliate the South Africa Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU). The South African Parliament also held public hearings on the deal.



“Walmart/Massmart will have a presence here and in Africa but there are consequences that need to be looked at which are in the public interest,” Jennings said on CNBC. “Supply chain issues are at the top of the pile. Why can’t they get engaged in this process and give more guarantees of a new approach by Walmart-Massmart to ensure that the local supply base here is helped and given a fair shake?”



UNI, which has a global alliance for Walmart workers and their unions, believes that SACCAWU’s appeal of the deal is justified and the government is taking the right action to address procedural issues with the merger.



When questioned on CNBC about what effects the appeal could have on investment in South Africa, Jennings said that fears about hurting foreign direct investment are overblown.



“The business community around the world has the highest regard for the business community in this country,” Jennings said. “I think some of these observations are somewhat hysterical and I don’t think they should be taken too seriously…South Africa is open for business. Global business is present here already across the board from raw materials to manufacturing into the services economy. We will see more international investment in the services economy but we need to have a certainty of the conditions upon which conditions this takes place.”



You can watch the video here.