South Africa, a second Zimbabwe if white business 'does not come around'

This interesting article was extracted from BussinesDay as it it. It goes like, Confederation of Black Business Organisations warns that Zimbabwe's farm invasions started 20 years after independence and with SA just three years away from the same milestone.

ZIMBABWE's farm invasions started 20 years after independence and with SA just three years away from the same milestone, a failure by organised business to accommodate the concerns of black business could lead to similar unrest, the vice- president of the Confederation of Black Business Organisations says.

"I see working together of all these structures as the best thing that could happen to SA. But if people don't do that, the thing will take care of its own situation," Bafana Ndendwa says.

"This is a very serious warning. What this country is going to see is very angry people who don't want to listen to anything. White business has got to come around and be very sober and understand that SA belongs to us all."

A day after a confederation meeting on Thursday, Mr Ndendwa said it had taken over co-ordinating a unified black response to Business Unity SA from the Black Business Caucus, a looser grouping that held a similar meeting the week before. The confederation would hold a conference in about a month to decide on staying on Busa or not.

Despite Mr Ndendwa's warnings and the concerns of other black business interests, a more nuanced debate is under way about the future of the lobby group than the sudden exit of the Black Management Forum suggests. The rupture may, in fact, lead to mutually agreed changes in the representation of black business groupings in Busa.

"We appreciate the fact that black business has seen a need to strengthen themselves in order to improve their capacity to fully and meaningfully participate," Busa said on Friday. "We see this as a positive step in enhancing the policy-making processes of business in SA. Busa is committed to business unity and a strengthened black business can only improve this."

The organisation said at a meeting with black members on Monday it would set up a task team to look at strengthening black organisations and give them a greater say in Busa structures. This is a key issue.

"Black organisations are hamstrung by lack of capacity. They cannot participate in Busa meetings organised at 12 midday because people participating in black business are people like me," says Mr Ndendwa, who runs a construction company.

The sticking point of the CEO selection remains, however. In its Friday statement, Busa repeated its support for the process under way, saying the 22 names a recruitment agency came up with had been narrowed down to five candidates. Black organisations criticise the inclusion of Busa vice-president Mthunzi Mdwaba as a candidate, even though he helped to draw up the specifications for the job.

It is unclear whether Mr Mdwaba is one of the final five. Even if he is a frontrunner, the opposition to his candidacy counts against him, as he would struggle to get the buy-in of black business.

"They will have to appoint a person who can do the job. If they appoint a person unacceptable to membership organisations, he won't be able to do it," said one person observing the process on Friday.

Busa said last week businessman Sandile Zungu had withdrawn from Busa activities but would stay on the committee choosing a new CEO.

Eight years after its formation, Busa may be about to undergo changes that may make it more representative of business as a whole. A more robust, representative group may not be an easier ship to steer, but it may more honestly reflect the views of its constituent parts ' and may be a forum to challenge those views as well.

"My statements are not saying that black business is not made up of saints, but I am just saying black business, they are the underdogs," Mr Ndendwa says.

Author's contacts are given as blebym@bdfm.co.za