Cadbury top deck white: BMF

The Black Management Forum (BMF) is taking a swipe at Kraft Foods and Cadbury.

In a statement, BMF managing director Gaba Tabane said that following Kraft Food's recent takeover of Cadbury, the announcement of the South African and sub-Saharan Africa boards of the united entity showed that members were "lily whit", save for two Indian expatriates, "which hardly qualifies as being pro-transformation".

Tabane said he had been made aware that some contracts in key positions within top management were not renewed and were replaced with non-employment equity candidates.

This, he added, seemed to suggest that the Kraft Foods' acquisition of Cadbury had negated all transformation initiatives and strides made in the past within the company.

"The BMF will be engaging both Kraft Foods and Cadbury leadership as well as getting the views of the Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) in ensuring that progress in transformation is not impeded."

Neither Kraft Foods South Africa nor Cadbury South Africa could be reached for comment.

The BMF had chosen to focus on transformation in the financial services, mining and manufacturing sectors of the economy for the period ending October 2012.

"Apart from scrutinising the major players in these sectors, the BMF has created partnerships to conduct studies that will show the pace of transformation in these sectors," Tabane said.

The BMF supported the recent findings by KIO Advisory Services that showed a retarded transformation progress in the mining industry.

"We have always known that the mining industry is being minimalist in its pursuit of transformation, using skills and other issues as smokescreens behind which they hide from the unavoidable wave of transformation," Tabane said.

The BMF and KIO Advisory Services would be approaching key players in the mining sector, especially those listed on the JSE, policy makers in government and organised business and labour, to try and get to the bottom of the difficulties, if any, of meeting the transformation targets set for the mining sector.

"During the course of 2010, the BMF will host roundtable discussions with key players in financial services and the mining sectors to address transformation challenges," Tabane said.