Johannesburg - Business Unity SA (Busa) CEO Nomaxabiso
Majokweni and president Futhi Mtoba were asked to leave the Black Business
Summit, according to a report on Wednesday.
Majokweni, who took up her position last week, called
Tuesday's incident "most unfortunate", according to Business Day.
"The reasons given were that Busa would be discussed
and therefore our presence as Busa would be inappropriate," she reportedly
said.
The two-day summit was called after the Black Management
Forum withdrew from chief business lobby group Busa in July, saying Busa's
structure was fundamentally flawed, with the voice of black business
"permanently outnumbered and suppressed".
"I don't know why they rocked up," Bafana Ndendwa,
vice-president of the Confederation of Black Business Organisations, which
convened the summit in Johannesburg, told Business Day.
"If they were in the room, we would not have a chance
for a natural discussion. It's awkward for the people discussing, and for the
people being discussed."
He said Busa had been invited by mistake, but the invitation
was later withdrawn.
According to Business Day, Busa said the confederation had
revoked its invitation in a letter dated September 3, which it only saw on
Monday.
Majokweni attended as a guest of summit co-host the National
African Federated Chamber of Commerce, and Mtoba was there through the
Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of SA.
President Jacob Zuma addressed the summit on Tuesday,
calling for delegates to put the interests of South Africa first.
"We trust that you will have fruitful deliberations and
will put the interests of the country first above all else," he said.
Zuma told the summit that unity in business was important to
the government.
"The unity of the business sector is paramount in
ensuring the achievement of the transformation goals. As government, we need a
unified and united business voice to work with."
He urged delegates to "find one another".
"The time to differ I think is gone, it's now time to
find one another."
Zuma said he had tried to meet Busa.
"I intended to see Business Unity South Africa last
month... but they were not available at the time."
On Tuesday, Majokweni said in a statement: "Busa was
not at the summit, but we are currently liaising with the presidency to find
out more details around that."