Thebe Mabanga and Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
One of the freebies supplied to the delegates of the Black Management Forum’s (BMF) 25th anniversary conference this week was a huge sweet dispenser crammed with jelly babies, liquorice and lozenges.
At the end of each speech by high-profile black academics and lieutenants of industry with aspirations to be captains, it became clear why the sweets were on offer the message from key speakers was a bitter one.
One of the speakers, Development Bank of South Africa head Mandla Gantsho, summed up the challenge facing the delegates: “Black people must begin to take control of their destiny and lay the foundation to broaden the empowerment of all our people.”
The problem facing black economic empowerment is that black people’s participation in the economy has been largely limited to investments in listed companies by a handful of people.
Real black economic empowerment, Gantsho lamented, “cannot be achieved through these passive investments”. The challenge, he said, “is for black people to actively get involved in the running of companies and to ensure that these companies are directed towards empowering all our people”.
The BMF conference provided an opportunity for delegates to formulate strategies to deal with this problem. By October 12, the third day of the gathering, leading black economic minds will grapple with solutions to broaden their economic base.
More critically, however, the conference is expected to develop a firm strategy on how black people can access finance. Also at the top of the agenda is the HIV/Aids issue, corporate governance and job creation. Although the government is expected to play a major role in addressing these issues, the BMF conference emphasised the need for private sector involvement.
The first day of the conference offered an interesting glimpse into the dynamics of black middle-class assimilation and how political power is used as a blunt weapon to access the levers of economic power.
Ironically, the BMF gathered in the former heart of whiteness and the seat of opulence, the Sandton Convention Centre. But, as was evident at the cocktail party at the start of the conference, black business leaders have made Sandton their new home.
BMF President Bheki Sibiya celebrated his re-election by reminiscing about his days in the brewing industry and held a small audience spellbound with an impressive culinary trick of dipping a carnation in beer and eating it.
In his introductory address, Sibiya declared the conference one of “no holy cows”, urging delegates to move beyond what he called “dishonest civilities” and engage meaningfully.
“The BMF has successfully moved beyond a position of advocacy to deal with broader issues facing [all] businesses,” he said during a tea break.
Standard Bank’s Sam Ngidi illustrates the maturity the BMF has attained. He recalled a 1991 BMF conference in his home town Durban. One of the major resolutions tabled was whether the organisation should accept white members. His branch was opposed to this and enjoyed the support of the Umtata branch and opposition from nine other branches.
When the crucial moment of discussion dawned, they discovered that the Umtata branch had changed its stance overnight and ditched them at the podium. Their arms had been twisted by then chairperson of the Johannesburg branch, the “cunning” Lot Ndlovu, as Ngidi describes him.
Since then, the BMF has attracted a few white members, which Sibiya reckons is substantially low. It has also matured to be bold enough to solicit the best available expertise for the organisation on the basis of quality and not race. Which is why experts like Professor Willie Esterhuyse of Stellenbosch University and tax guru Michael Katz were among the speakers at this week’s conference.
Sibiya said the conference aims “to come up with ideas and practical suggestions of narrowing the gap between [labour] and the government on privatisation”. They will then seek to help implement privatisation in a way that broadens ownership and makes the economy more competitive.
Saki Macozoma, New African Investment Limited CEO, gave delegates another challenge. He called for a change in economic thinking in the wake of the United States terror attacks and suggested a shift from controlling the economy through monetary policy to controlling it through fiscal policy.
Macozoma lamented the widening gap between rich and poor nations and the uneven patterns of trade between countries, citing the United States steel and the European Union agricultural policies.