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Johannesburg - Business lobby group the Black Management
Forum (BMF) has dismissed as false recent media reports that its president and
chief government spokesperson, Jimmy Manyi, gate-crashed a recent Business
Unity SA (Busa) meeting.
BMF managing director Nomhle Nkumbi-Ndopu said on Monday
that Manyi was asked by BMF deputy president Tembakazi Mnyaka, who was abroad,
to attend the meeting on his behalf.
Nkumbi-Ndopu said Manyi "made a very brief
appearance" to tell Busa that the BMF should be given the responsibility
to field candidates for the position of Busa CEO, after which Nkumbi-Ndopu
attended the rest of the meeting.
She said Busa's vice-president, Cas Coovadia, knew that
Manyi was invited to the meeting.
"Coovadia did in fact clarify that Manyi's attendance
was both procedural and by agreement, yet the media continued with misleading
and defamatory headlines," Nkumbi-Ndopu said.
Coovadia said Manyi did not gate-crash the meeting.
"Manyi arrived at Busa's offices just before the
meeting. The chairperson and president of Busa met him and he requested permission
to address the meeting in his capacity as president of BMF," said
Coovadia.
Coovadia said Manyi was excused after he put the BMF
position to the meeting.
Busa was left without a CEO when Jerry Vilakazi resigned several weeks ago.
