Corporate SA and black business need to get with the programme

This coming Wednesday will mark the 20th anniversary of an event that pushed South Africa forward on the road to democracy.

This past Wednesday there was a milestone that threw South Africa backwards. A day of which we should not be proud.

The event of 20 years ago was the signing of the National Peace Accord, a momentous document that went a long way towards creating a climate conducive to change.

Signed by 27 parties at the height of bloody conflicts across the country, the NPA committed South Africans to finding a peaceful way out of apartheid. Even the Inkatha Freedom Party, whose appetite for blood was insatiable, was there on September 14 1991 and attached its signature to the document.

The regrettable event of the past week was the re-establishment of the Black Business Council and the exit of black structures from the nonracial Business Unity South Africa. The BBC was dissolved in 2003 when different formations merged to form Busa.

The formation of the BBC, which is comprised of black business bodies that feel marginalised in Busa, undoes nearly a decade of work that has gone into building one coherent business voice. The split follows almost a year of low-intensity war between the leadership of Busa and some black business bodies.

Some have sought to characterise the conflict as a clash between black and white business. The fact that Busa has strong black leadership belies this simplistic explanation.

The war raging in the business sector is about that ingredient that is still so elusive in our nation-building pot: trust.

If you hear the language spoken during times of conflict, it is patently clear that the distrust that exists in other areas of society runs as deep in business leadership.

In a statement at the end of the black business summit, the new grouping said its formation "marks the beginning of a new era in that black business is defining its own agenda and taking control of its own destiny". That is a clear articulation that black business felt it was being pulled by the nose and that its interests were not being served.

That there was a need for the formation of this group is an indictment on our quest to shape a new country. It is rather bizarre that those who make up the majority of the country's population feel the need to become a "breakaway" faction.

My initial reaction to the withdrawal was that it was all one big tantrum and a cop-out. That it was all part of some power play by some individuals who couldn't get their way in the larger entity. This may well be true and it would explain why some of the ugliest fights take place when there are organisational elections looming or when there are strategic posts to be filled. But it is not the full story.

There is a strong feeling in the black business community that traditionally white corporate South Africa still calls the shots and is resistant to change. There is a strong sense that the unity that was achieved in 2003 was not a merger. They feel they were simply swallowed. Despite having had black leadership at the very top of the organisation, the sentiment (an unfair one) is that the tune is played by the white leadership.

Black business leaders argue that those of darker hue who have risen to the top of Busa have been allowed to do so because they do not threaten white power - an erroneous and insulting statement given the calibre and strong-mindedness of the individuals being referred to.

While they are very wrong on the score of white control of Busa, traditionally white corporate South Africa has not come to the party enthusiastically on the issue of transforming the country's economy. It may seem cliched and boring, but one need only to look at the complexion of corporate South Africa. Year after year statistics show the pace of change is as fast as an Eritrean on a Swiss ski slope.

You then look at the box-ticking application of empowerment codes and you can't but shake your head with disappointment.

Yes, there is a lot wrong with empowerment and employment equity and the manner in which these policies have been conceptualised and implemented. But what is unacceptable is the attitude of corporate South Africa that change is something forced on it rather than it being the right thing to do.

A good dose of introspection is required on both sides of the debate. Those who have opted out have to ask themselves what good is served by going to sulk in a corner and by deepening racial cleavages. And traditionally white corporate South Africa has to ask itself what it has done to entrench the distrust.

The challenges facing our country require a strong business movement that will partner with the state, labour and civil society in the formulation and implementation of policy.

As President Jacob Zuma told summit delegates this week: "As government, we need a unified and united business voice to work with. The time to differ, I think, is gone. It's now time to find one another."