Black mark for BEE

01 October 2014 - 02:15 By Olebogeng Molatlhwa
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Black entrepreneurs are fed up with the "failed" state-sponsored affirmative action policy and want to go it alone.

The frustrated entrepreneurs say white corporate South Africa is not willing to transform.

Speaking at a two-day conference of the Black Management Forum yesterday, Dr Thandi Ndlovu, CEO of Motheo Construction, said the time had come for black entrepreneurs to establish their own "sustainable" firms.

"Voting every five years will not help you. In corporate South Africa, there is no intention to transform," she said.

Her sentiments were echoed by fellow entrepreneur Sandile Zungu, a member of President Jacob Zuma's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council .

Conceding that his was a generalisation "in the extreme", Zungu said "whites don't want to change".

He said fuelling the attitude of corporate South Africa was the belief by white bosses that since they had built their companies to benefit one section of the population, they had no obligation to transform and incorporate black entrepreneurs into the mainstream economy.

Zungu did not spare black executives , chiding them for not creating opportunities for their junior counterparts . Instead, he said, they made excuses to remain the only blacks at management level .

Turning to the government and the ANC, he was even more scathing: "Our government worships multinational companies and I don't know why. Sometimes even the ruling party blows hot and cold on transformation."

Former BMF president Jimmy Manyi weighed in on the debate, criticising the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act.

Manyi called for the act to "be scrapped or reviewed" because it placed greater emphasis on price, something he said rendered small black-owned companies uncompetitive against their established white-owned counterparts

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize were told of the rising frustration at the slow pace of transformation and the state's apparent inability to enforce laws it had championed.

According to the Employment Equity Commission report into employment trends between 2003 and 2013, whites occupy 67% of top management positions, and blacks enjoy 20% representation. Coloureds and Indians occupy 4.1% and 5.1% of top management positions respectively.

In his response, Mkhize intimated that the government was preoccupied with governing the country.

"We're looking at growing the economy faster but also ensuring the deracialisation of this economy," he said.

Oliphant turned the attention back to the BMF.

"There are many black people who were prominent BMF activists who now sit at the top of their respective organisations and some run their own businesses.

"Can we say, Mr President [BMF president Bonang Mohale], that by virtue of their connection with BMF, their organisations are the shining examples of how transformation should be done?

"You talk about resistance to change, what are you doing in a practical way to advance the transformation agenda? Where is the BMF-specific programme of action? Your Marshall Plan, so to speak," she asked.

Slower economic growth - forecast by both the Reserve Bank and economists to barely reach 1.5% this year - is limiting opportunities for wealth creation.

The National Treasury wants to rein in the deficit to 4% of the gross domestic product , but data on the state's revenue collection released yesterday made i t seem optimistic.

The shortfall of R7.3-billion in August was much larger than most analysts forecast. The cumulative budget deficit in the 2014-2015 fiscal year was now 21.1% higher compared with the same period last year, Barclays Capital said.

"Finance Minister Nene delivers the medium-term budget policy statement on October 22. We remain of the view that he is likely to announce a revision of the budget deficit target for the fiscal year 2014-2015 from 4% to 4.3% of GDP."

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