MD’S NOTE

The African Leader publication has been our voice of reason for many years. This edition comes at a time when the country is greatly challenged by a lack of clear views on how to transform the economy. We are excited to see the return of African Leader after a brief absence and the BMF has chosen to focus this edition on a post-COVID-19 society and what it should look like. The publication also focuses on BMF-related opportunities and how the BMF can move its agenda forward. We have also solicited views on the local government sphere and the critical role it plays in delivering services to our people.

The BMF has a demonstrable track record in advocating for change and development in the country. A post-COVID-19 society will need a BMF that will not only articulate clearly what needs to be done, but also lobbies for views consistently.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY IN THE SPOTLIGHT

In imagining a more transformed society post-COVID-19, developing the right kind of competencies for leaders is critical. The BMF is focused on broadening the quality and quantity of programmes for our members. This developing agenda of broadening programmes has led to many more insights, which the BMF needs to consider. We still maintain our current programmes – Young Professionals Development Programme (YPDP), Duke Woman Empowerment Programme, MLAP, GIBS and Wits MBA programmes. Our goal of establishing a BMF Academy remains one of the key priorities moving into the future, and we have on this for a couple of years; now the organisation has an added layer of influencing leadership in society. The broader academy vision, where we will begin to see more programmes being developed by BMF for its members, remains a work in progress; we are currently engaging with one of our stakeholders about bringing onboard more programmes for our members.

The Employment Equity Commission Report has annually painted a grim picture of the lack of black leaders ascending into positions of influence. In top management, black Africans hold only 15.8 per cent of positions, but even more dire is the 4.6 per cent of African women in the private sector. These numbers should make us rethink the kind of leadership future we will have if the status quo remains. The agenda of African women taking a leading role in business cannot be overemphasised. This is part of a post-COVID-19 era, where we must see black women take the central stage in transforming our country and occupying top leadership positions in the country.

Policy input has also been an ongoing objective, but in a post-COVID-19 era, the BMF will need to focus on specific laws that have not fulfilled their original objective to restructure society for the better. There is also an opportunity for the BMF to champion laws, predating the enactment of the Constitution, that might be hindering progress in certain areas of society.

I would like to thank our corporate members for continuing their commitment to the BMF. These partnerships will yield even more fruit in a post-COVID-19 era, where we all realise that our collective future is dependent on deeper collaborations.

In the words of our founding father Eric Mafuna, “all we have done in the past 45 years is to take the rst step.” Indeed, with all the progress the organisation has made in the last 45 years, we are still building it for a better future. We are now in the “second step” of building Eric Mafuna’s BMF cathedral.

WHAT’S NEXT?

e BMF has made considerable progress over the past 45 years, and is now, writes acting MD Philippe Bakahoukoutela, embarking on the next phase of its development

Philippe Bakahoukoutela

recently made great strides with our SAQA designations. The BMF will now be able to award professionals with three designations: transformation professional, transformation manager and transformation director. I must thank the team that has been working