The union between black and Afrikaans chambers of business is a natural step towards economic integration, reports Max Gebhardt
IT could be the most unlikely of marriages, both in terms of historical differences and future ambitions. Yet the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut (AHI) and the National Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) have agreed to begin working towards a single body representing business in South Africa.
This Partnership Initiative, as the tentative union is termed, is set to unite the efforts of South Africa’s largest black and Afrikaans chambers of business in an attempt to “serve and promote the economic interests of their members and of South Africa”.
The partnership is still at the honeymoon stage and like any newlyweds, they are extremely nervous at upsetting their new- found partners. Both chambers are reluctant to discuss specific success achieved so far. However, their members, they say, are already reaching out across the divide into successful joint partnerships.
The idea for the union was first mooted at a bosberaad [informal conference] earlier this year and the executive committees of both AHI and Nafcoc are hoping that by early next year a more formal arrangement can be finalised.
At present they are happily engaged in joint meetings to outline the future of the union in a “spirit of goodwill”.
Although an unlikely wedlock, considering the diverse backgrounds the two chambers represent, they perhaps have more to learn from each other than any other two groupings in the South African economy.
Consider the example of Gencor – which was used as a vehicle to empower the Afrikaans people of South Africa by so-called English business – and the recently concluded sales of Johnnic and JCI by Anglo American to various black consortiums, realised in the name of black empowerment.
The union with Nafcoc, says AHI executive director Jacob de Villiers, was born almost naturally because of the urgent need to unleash the potential of the economy and the country’s human resources.
“We knew, when the AHI started up in 1942, that we needed to help our members to gain access to information, capital and technology so that the Afrikaans community could become integrated into the business environment,” De Villiers said.
A situation that is currently faced by Nafcoc’s members and black business in general. By reaching out towards Nafcoc, De Villiers hopes that through the Partnership Initiative, AHI can impart some of its knowledge to Nafcoc.
“We knew that by reaching out to them and by helping them forward we would be helping the country forward,” he said.
There is a strong need at present to help black business gain a measure of access to those resources, which they have been previously denied, says De Villiers, if we plan to develop a successful economy.
“The inequalities of the past placed a heavy burden on society, the economy and the individual. Black empowerment involves the need to do what is necessary to bring them into the economy as equal partners,” he said.
De Villiers said AHI’s strong membership and their integration into the formal business environment, along with the chamber’s well developed sakekamers [business chambers], can contribute to the success of the venture.
Nafcoc executive director Phillip Machaba said at the initial meetings there were obvious apprehensions from both sides about the union.
“Barring the divergent backgrounds and objectives we might have had, there was a feeling that there is a need to concentrate on the areas of commonality that we both hold and move towards a sounder South African business environment,” Machaba said.
One of those areas of “commonality” is to promote economic empowerment and entrepreneurial development at all levels and the sharing of mutual resources.
“The level of Nafcoc members’ businesses is not at the same level of AHI; we hope through this exercise there can be a transfer of skills.”
This is one of the many benefits that Nafcoc is hoping to gain from the Partnership Initiative.
The members of both AHI and Nafcoc have taken on board the new partnership with vigour, according to Machaba. Already he has received indications that members have begun making tentative contact with AHI members, though they are treating the initiative with a measure of caution until it has been more formally developed.
The deal, hope the two groups, will allow them to develop new capacity for both their members and their organisations. Future plans are to share resources for mutual benefit and develop joint policy and lobby for those policies together.
But they are not yet at the stage where either AHI or Nafcoc is willing to give up its respective individuality. On certain issues, such as land expropriation, there is bound to be an agreement to disagree.
“We will not sacrifice or compromise our position just for the sake of coming together,” Machaba said. But this, he felt, will facilitate debate between the two organisations, although he stresses that it is not a panacea for the ills of the past – rather a move towards addressing those issues.
Sceptics have raised concerns about the AHI/Nafcoc Partnership Initiative. They doubt whether the two chambers have any hope of an effective merger and question the need for a union.