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BMF president comes out swinging

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Mncane Mthunzi
Mncane Mthunzi

Newly elected Black Management Forum (BMF) president Mncane Mthunzi (43) believes the organisation has to go back to basics to reinvent itself as a champion for transformation if it is to remain a relevant lobby group for black professionals.

Mthunzi, a Harvard Business School graduate in advanced management, said in his acceptance speech in Midrand on Thursday that the BMF was no longer what it used to be and had to rid itself of elements that were intent on using it to “sell the family jewels” at the expense of the forum in order to advance their careers and businesses.

Mthunzi, a BMF member for 21 years, delivered a provocative speech in which he also criticised “staffriders” in the organisation, accusing some members of being impatient by seeking senior positions at the forum without a clear understanding of what it stood for.

He admitted the BMF was no longer what it used to be and it had lost touch with members who no longer believed in the lobby group.

“Does the BMF still have clout? Are we still relevant? People are questioning our relevance, and it’s a reality out there.

“We have allowed corporate South Africa to do as it wishes and we never challenged these things.

“We lost courage. We need to bring back that courage and ensure we do the right things. That’s the BMF I will lead,” said Mthunzi minutes after winning an election contested by Koko Khumalo, another long-serving member.

The superstore executive at Massbuild promised to return the BMF to its glory days and make it “the BMF that made you join it in the first place”.

“It’s coming back,” he said. “We will continue with our race-based strategies that make sure we have a colour-blind world, and we won’t shy away from making comments,” said Mthunzi, who succeeded Bonang Mohale, the chairperson of Shell SA.

When Mthunzi, who does not believe that black professionals need hand-outs but rather fair opportunities in the private sector, sat down with City Press, he did not mince his words, criticising government and the private sector for the regression in the number of black professionals in the top echelons of corporate South Africa.

“We don’t want hand-outs from anyone. We want the competent black people we are lobbying for to be promoted and appointed on merit and given the opportunities they have been denied in spite of their abilities,” said Mthunzi.

His election comes in the week the Jack Hammer executive report revealed a lack of transformation at the country’s top 40 companies – where the number of black CEOs decreased from 15% to 10%.

Asked why transformation was stagnant, Mthunzi said: “I think it’s a number of factors. I would say government has lacked a bit and transformation is not as critical to corporate South Africa to make sure that it improves or progresses.

“There are no consequences for lack of transformation and, as long as there are no consequences, people will do as they please.”

Mthunzi said he would not lead an organisation that kowtowed to the whims of government or the private sector.

“We will give support to government and, where we disagree, we will criticise government. We will remain an independent organisation that expresses its views.

“Every organisation goes through its phases; you can’t be on a high all the time. Sometimes we need to have this phase for us to reflect and get things better. Come back to the BMF and let’s rebuild it to being the one we want, will remember and be proud of,” said Mthunzi.

To return the organisation to its former relevance, he suggested that the BMF be party to critical policy-making processes in government, particularly around the mooted multibillion-rand black industrialists programme.

“We should leverage legislation and all these policies that are in support of transformation to use that as a spear to make sure we achieve what we need to achieve. Even the Constitution supports transformation, but we are scared to use these pieces of legislation to make sure that we get that outcome,” said Mthunzi.

But to do that, black South Africans needed to acquire the skills needed to succeed, he said.

“This BMF will advance human capital development. We need a cadre of talented individuals who have the skill and ability to succeed and add value into the economy of this country.

“We must be prepared to study and learn and question where we are in the structure of the companies we’re in; we must roll up our sleeves and work hard, take those tough decisions and leave the easier ones we’ve been [looking at] for more than 21 years,” added Mthunzi.

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