‘Scrutinise SA’s top 30 firms’

The vice-president of the Black Business Council and president of the SA Institute of Black Property Practitioners (SAIBPP), Nkuli Bogopa, has called for transformation in the country’s top 30 companies to be scrutinised.

Speaking on the sidelines of the SAIBPP’s annual convention in Sandton this week, Bogopa said: “We need to analyse the top 30 companies – analyse their top structures. Are they responding to transformation, to employment equity? Are they behaving as corporate citizens responding to the task of the day, and the conscious role they have to play?” she asked.

Bogopa pointed out that transformation was not a one-sided responsibility driven only by government.

“It’s deeply concerning that when Absa has the opportunity to become a proudly South African brand with the divorce from Barclays, the first news to come out is retrenchment.

“We know for every retrenchment the majority of people affected are going to be black, and we know that for every black person who has an income, they impact the lives of at least 12 people around them,” she said, adding that the 27% unemployment rate was a sad reflection and indictment of the country.

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Bogopa said the SAIBPP had made formal submissions to the land expropriation debate.

“We want urban and spatial transformation. We also want central administration of all land as well as adjudication of access to land.

“We also want to say the changing of the Constitution alone – without relooking at the accompanying associated enabling legislation – will not deliver the desired results of land reform.

“As a result, that process is an opportunity to address other land-related issues,” she said.

Bogopa pointed out that access to opportunities remained one of the biggest challenges to transformation in the property sector.

“Access is the biggest thing our people are hungry for. More than just ownership, access to opportunities is what is critical to our people,” she said.

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During her earlier speech at the event, Bogopa said their organisation was elated by the efforts of President Cyril Ramaphosa to raise billions in investment.

She said Asians saw opportunities on the African continent, and locals also needed to come on board.

“For the Asians, Africa is actually the fourth industrial revolution. Our continent is full of opportunities and possibilities,” she said, adding that their organisation has always lobbied for property professionals in the country to exploit and explore opportunities in the rest of the continent.