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Johannesburg - Public outrage over suggestions that Business Unity SA (Busa) president Futhi Mtoba was a transformation lightweight forced the Black Management Forum (BMF) to eat humble pie on Friday.
Some leaders of the associations that are affiliated to Busa made public comments about what they saw as an unwarranted personal attack on the new Busa president.
The president-elect of the Businesswomen's Association, Kunyalala Maphisa, said: "Questioning her appointment due to her association with established business directly questions her integrity as a professional and a business person. This suggests an inability to stand for what is right.
"Her appointment as Busa president should be celebrated and commended as it is in line with government policy on gender equity and it speaks to the urgent need for transformation in corporate South Africa."
The president of the International Women's Forum of South Africa, Dr Namane Magau, said allegations that Mtoba would be a puppet of big business had no substance.
"As much as she spends her time dealing with issues affecting big business, she is also involved in areas where she has been developing other women," Magau said.
Hlengani Mathebula, the chairperson of the African Leadership Group and the Black Business Executive Circle, said Mtoba's critics were being malicious because the leadership positions she held in the past had proved she was a champion of transformation.
"She won the Busa democratic elections fairly and everyone needs to rally behind her. No one will benefit from making negative public remarks," Mathebula said.
The chief executive of Business Leadership SA, Michael Spicer, said that Mtoba was more experienced than the alternative candidate, Sandile Zungu.
"There is no doubt that both candidates were of high quality, but we needed someone who was very experienced and who will speak with one voice for all the businesses," Spicer said.
On Friday the BMF issued a statement backtracking on its comments of three days earlier.
BMF president Jimmy Manyi said: "The BMF expresses regret at the confusion following the statement intended to decry the Goliath approach by big business in the Busa presidency race.
"It is unfortunate that a seasoned transformation agent like Futhi Mtoba got caught in the crossfire," he said.
Manyi said his aim had been to address the poor representation of black structures in Busa, which was viewed as a handicap that would lead to the organisation rubber-stamping positions that did not benefit black business.
The back-pedalling started when Manyi faced an internal revolt in some of the BMF's provincial structures for saying on Tuesday that Mtoba's appointment was against transformation.
Thando Mpulu, the chairperson of the BMF branch in Eastern Cape, said that Manyi had expressed his personal view when he criticised Mtoba.
"It was never the position of the BMF to criticise Mtoba.
"It is good that the BMF has finally cleared the air, as the board of directors had not agreed on criticising her," Mpulu said.
BMF Mpumalanga chairperson Tlou Seete said: "It would not be fair for black organisations to not support the appointment of a black person, especially when she is skilled, competent and holds high professional positions."
He added that Mtoba was not elected on the basis of her skin colour but on her qualifications and her ability.
"We should celebrate her appointment because we are going to use her as a gateway to unlock any transformation issues," Seete said.
- City Press
