Empowerment June 2022

JUNE 2022

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BLACK MANAGEMENT FORUM

www.businessmediamags.co.za

Andile Nomlala

Esethu Mancotywa

Khaya Sithole

Zyda Rylands

Mncane Mthunzi

Nneile Nkholise

UBUNTU

Why our collective corporate leadership needs to be sensitised to manage our inequalities more effectively

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W I T S BUSINES S SCHOOL A DV ER T ORI A L

“Pracademia” and learning for real-world impact Complacency is the biggest threat to professionals and their careers. For this reason, lifelong learning is necessary for those wanting to succeed in life if they wish to remain relevant, shares Leoni Grobler, director of Executive Education at Wits Business School

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xecutive education caters for working people at various levels of an organisation. It focuses on the key skills and competencies needed to manage oneself, others, and a successful business. Things are constantly changing, so whether you’ve just stepped into your first job, are a seasoned manager, or a celebrated executive, you need to constantly reskill and upskill yourself. We walk that learning journey with our delegates at every stage of their career, whether they’re just starting off or already established in their fi eld.

Executive education can help foster a growth mindset. This means you learn to see the opportunity in every challenge; it also helps foster entrepreneurial skills because people learn to see gaps in the market and develop solutions to fill those gaps.

SKILLS FOR SUCCESS Business leaders must be adaptable to internal and external disruptions therefore flexibility, agility, and resilience are important skills to develop. The world is forcing us to be far more fluid in the way we think, and nobody can afford to be resistant to change.

Given the speed at which technology is influencing the way we live, and essentially running our businesses, a digital skill set becomes crucial. Digital skills drive growth, increase revenue and market brands, and improve organisational performance. Creative thinking is important across all levels of business and goes hand in hand with problemsolving and a growth mindset. Creativity needs

to be coupled with critical and analytical thinking that support sound decision-making.

MAKING LEARNING A LIFESTYLE Learning is lived, not done. A learning mindset is one that permeates every aspect of life and ensures continuous growth and development. There is no right time to start because learning should be seen as an ongoing process. This does not mean it must be a formal and structured process. It’s about researching, reading, watching Ted Talks, and listening to podcasts about a variety of topics … we have so many resources and platforms available Leoni and greater access to Grobler information, so learning is easier than ever; there is no excuse to stagnate.

LEARNING FROM THE BEST Graduate and postgraduate studies are theoretical and academic in nature, while executive education programmes are more experiential. Staying relevant means staying up to date in theory and practice. Executive education is all about applied learning, so it is really practising, understanding, testing, and piloting what is being learnt in the classroom, and then doing so in the workplace.

This practical approach is why Wits Business School’s programmes are presented by what we call “pracademics”. Many organisations and leaders are concerned that business schools may not be in touch with the realities of the world of work. Our teaching faculty have a good theoretical and technical base, but more than that, they have practical experience. So, if they

talk about implementing a strategy, they can give real-world examples of the problems they faced and the solutions they implemented. We ensure that our delegates gain knowledge from someone who is speaking from experience. We get people from business to teach business.

FUTURE-PROOFING BUSINESSES The pandemic’s impact has transformed the course of business. We’ve seen how fast things can change, and business leaders need the foresight to deal with complexity and disruption.

For Wits Business School, working with pracademics ensures delegates receive the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical experience to stay ahead in their professional environments. Combined with fostering a growth mindset and lifelong learning, delegates are supported and challenged to grow personally and professionally, helping them to succeed and stay ahead.

Join WBS – Executive Education to enhance, upskill and redevelop yourself and remain relevant in unprecedented times.

About Executive Education:

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the Wits Business School website.

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION IS ALL ABOUT APPLIED LEARNING, SO IT IS REALLY PRACTISING, UNDERSTANDING, TESTING, AND PILOTING WHAT IS BEING LEARNT IN THE CLASSROOM, AND THEN DOING SO IN THE WORKPLACE.

For more information: www.wbs.ac.za

EMPOWERMENT

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F ROM T HE EDI T OR

EMPOWERMENT PUBLISHED BY

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TRANSFORMATION CAN BE

A WIN-WIN FOR ALL

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n this edition of Empowerment, we grapple with the corporate attitude to economic transformation. We look at why some senior black business leaders quit their jobs, often unexpectedly.

We find corporates that have successful mentoring projects for young black executives, and we look at what some state-owned corporations are doing about ensuring that our tax money, given to them to uplift the

country, also helps uplift poor communities that can benefit not only from receiving work, but also experience.

The president and deputy president of the Black Management Forum (BMF) share their views on the state of the economy and the need for transformation.

Ryland Fisher Editor

EDITORIAL Editor: Ryland Fisher Content Manager: Raina Julies rainaj@picasso.co.za Contributors: Jermaine Craig, Duma Gqubule, Denise Mhlanga, Parmi Natesan, Monde Ndlovu, Andile Nomlala, Tiisetso Tlelima, Anelisa Tuswa

Contents

Copy Editor: Brenda Bryden Content Co-ordinator: Vanessa Payne

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MANAGEMENT Management Accountant: Deidre Musha Business Manager: Lodewyk van der Walt General Manager, Magazines: Jocelyne Bayer

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No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publisher.

The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material. Empowerment is published by Picasso Headline. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Picasso Headline. All advertisements/ advertorials have been paid for and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publisher.

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President’s note: Andile Nomlala shares why it is critical to unearth the leadership philosophy of South Africa’s leaders.

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Deputy president’s note: Esethu Mancotywa discusses how black leaders, raised under the values of Ubuntu, are struggling to acclimatise to corporate South Africa.

Profile: Zyda Rylands shares her career journey at Woolworths and offers some advice to women who want to get ahead in business.

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The economy: economic transformation and inclusive growth can only happen within a context of higher rates of GDP growth.

Why inclusion and mentorship are critical to successful leadership transition.

STATE-OWNED CORPORATIONS

Thought leadership: Monde Ndlovu, head of advocacy and thought leadership, shares that the state-owned banking and finance industry remains fragmented and needs to be recalibrated.

LEADERSHIP 14

The leadership conundrum facing black CEOs as they transition to top leadership roles.

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Profile: Founder and director of iMED Tech Nneile Nkholise has been voted among the top female innovators in Africa.

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Profiling the SOCs that are developing and growing the communities in which they operate.

BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

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A self-audit on the work of the office of the B-BBEE Commissioner, set up in terms of an Act of Parliament.

INVESTMENT 28

Is SA investment friendly? Unpacking President Ramaphosa’s investment drive.

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A DV ER T ORI A L M AGA L IES WAT ER

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Ubuntu-driven leadership as a cornerstone for good governance and transformation Working together for the greater good under strong leadership and with all parties fulfilling their roles will enable service delivery organisations, such as Magalies Water, to perform and deliver on their constitutional mandate, shares MAGALIES WATER

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he local government sphere, which is at the coalface of service delivery, has been marred with numerous challenges, including inadequate supply of water. The inability to deal with this results in soaring water demand, which creates pressure on the supply systems, and water losses due to ageing infrastructure caused by maintenance backlogs.

Many of these remain unresolved because of financial constraints. Municipalities constitute a large customer base for many water boards in the country, therefore their inability to pay for bulk water supply poses a threat to institutions such as ours, which are not funded through the national fiscus.

South Africa’s water demand has grown exponentially, and this poses a threat to water security with serious socioeconomic ramifications that can disrupt everyone’s way of life. In 2021, Statistics South Africa in a document titled “Official Guide to South Africa 2020/21 People of South Africa” estimated the country’s population at 60.14 million people.

With over 22 strategic water areas and 223 river

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ecosystems, South Africa has been identified as a water-scarce country and the 30th driest in the world.

Exacerbating the growing water demand are the uneven rainfall patterns, compounded by consistently soaring temperatures in the inland provinces, including where Magalies Water operates, which creates a consistently growing water demand. This has over time pressured our infrastructure, which has been pushed to the limits to ensure that communities within our area of supply have access to clean, drinking water. Universal access to water cannot be left at the doorstep of government alone, with other strategic stakeholders being spectators of an issue that has a bearing on the economy and welfare of the millions of working and nonworking South Africans.

Magalies Water has commissioned research and made plans to deal with the soaring water demand in the North West and, more particularly, the Bojanala Platinum District. To this end, we have concluded studies that show how we can increase our bulk water supply to the municipalities with which we have a formal working relationship. The greatest challenge remains in our inability to commence with capital projects due to financial constraints.

This emanates from skyrocketing outstanding debt owed to us by some municipalities.

Notwithstanding that access to water is a basic human right, other sectors of government have an important role to play in encouraging communities to pay for services, which in turn, will enable us to expand our bulk infrastructure in pursuance of responding to the water issue.

GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS, THANKS TO SOUND LEADERSHIP We are proud that Magalies Water has been able to register remarkable progress in addressing the water issue through the refurbishment and expansion of some of our water treatment plants, despite the challenges that beset the sector. In the last two financial years (2019/20 and 2020/21), the organisation Interim Board Chairperson has achieved - Ms. Pinky Mokoto two clean audits.

This happened at a time when women leaders were given space to make a meaningful contribution to the organisation’s strategic objectives. The highly experienced former member of the national assembly, Pinky Mokoto, leads our board. Mokoto also has a solid track record in the local government sphere. During the aforementioned financial period, Magalies Water attained an average of 92 per cent performance – not an easy accomplishment.

Further to this, our chief financial officer, Matshidiso Tabane, together with colleagues from internal and external audit and the board’s finance committee, have played a critical role in ensuring that Magalies Water remains financially viable and meets all the set strategic objectives. We believe that the boardroom is not the place for men only; when capable and qualified women are given an opportunity to lead and serve, their qualities

WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY, AND ARE PROUD OF THE CONTRIBUTION MADE

BY WOMEN ON OUR BOARD AS WELL AS THE MANAGEMENT TEAM. THIS SHOWS THAT TIMES HAVE CHANGED, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY AND ABILITY TO DELIVER KNOWS NO GENDER.

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Klipdrift Water Treatment Plant

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Vaalkop Water Treatment Plant

Wallmannsthal Water Treatment Plant

WE NEED TO JOIN HANDS TO SUPPORT OTHER ROLE PLAYERS BY ENSURING THAT INFRASTRUCTURAL BOTTLENECKS THAT ARISE OUT OF FINANCIAL LIMITATIONS ARE RESOLVED FOR THE BENEFIT OF COMMUNITIES, THE BUSINESS SECTOR AND CIVIL SOCIETY. that are aimed at undertaking infrastructure development projects only, but also those with a social and moral basis.

We need to be working together to understand some of the current challenges that affect the service delivery Magalies Water CFO Matshidiso Tabane value chain to the extent that development cannot occur at a rapid pace.

Councils need to open their arms to include other strategic partners that will work THE SPIRIT OF UBUNTU alongside them to map a way forward. This Ubuntu is a sense of belonging to a collective. will give the public confidence in knowing The existence of shared values and ideals can how issues of effective service delivery can bring about the greater good. For this country be achieved. Funding remains the biggest not to fail its people, we all must play an active challenge, and this cannot be resolved without role to ensure that water boards, such as public participation and community support.

Magalies Water, are enabled to perform and Communities need to understand the deliver on their constitutional mandate. We detrimental effect of not paying for services, cannot afford to fail as that would compromise as well as the impact of damage to public the economy and, more specifically, jobs in the infrastructure during unrests and how that will mining and agricultural sector. affect them as end-users. Public education Our municipal councils need to be more campaigns are essential to sway public opinion present in engaging communities and the local on critical issues relating to service delivery. business sector through prioritising revenue When infrastructure development underpins collection. This will create the necessary shift all of our shared vision for universal access to alter the downward trajectory that has to water, economic opportunities are likely to been reported in the media fraternity around follow the development. With government’s service delivery challenges. Partnerships housing projects, construction of roads and should not be relegated to funding initiatives can always add value to the work that an organisation intends to carry out. We have come a long way, and are proud of the contribution made by women on our board as well as the management team. This shows that times have changed, and the responsibility and ability to deliver knows no gender.

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M AGA L IES WAT ER A DV ER T ORI A L

other social amenities, communities have an opportunity to be employed while contributing directly to their own Mr S Mkhize Chief Executive Officer at development. This is Magalies Water how we can achieve total transformation in all the communities within our service area.

We need to join hands to support other role players by ensuring that infrastructural bottlenecks that arise out of financial limitations are resolved for the benefit of communities, the business sector and civil society. The National Development Plan (NDP 2030) is emphatic about reducing inequalities that includes access to basic services. For us to achieve this we should not allow the local government sector to collapse as many of our people rely on the municipalities for services that cannot be sourced easily elsewhere, without increasing the inequality gap between households.

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the Magalies Water website.

For more information: info@magalieswater.co.za customerservices@magalieswater.co.za 0860 000 720 | 060 966 7994 www.magalieswater.co.za 38 Heystek St, Rustenburg, 0300

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BMF PRESIDEN T ’S NO T E

EXCAVATING THE TENETS OF UBUNTU T

he South African economy has been riddled with numerous challenges, from rising interest rates, the increased cost of living and increases in poverty, inequality and unemployment levels to questionable leadership on transformation matters. The country remains on edge about what will happen in the next few years.

The Black Management Forum (BMF) has its pulse on the thorny issues that hinder the country’s progress. At our recent Western Cape Black Excellence Awards event, we were deliberate about placing Ubuntu and governance at the coalface of the current debate in the country.

In the words of Dr Reuel Khoza, “to unravel the idea of Ubuntu is to explore the deepest levels of the African being-in-the-world in all its intellectual and emotional complexity. The individual is absorbed into the collective, yet retains an identity as an empirical being”.

These words ring true as we embark on excavating the tenants of Ubuntu.

UBUNTU AND LEADERSHIP It is generally well known that Ubuntu ought to be the driving force behind humanising our economic environment, and the ultimate standard to which we are all held. The need to explore the philosophy of Ubuntu is needed more today in a contemporary African environment filled with competing value systems that seek to undermine our very humanity. Individualism has taken root within our leadership spaces, even defining the quality of choices made by top leaders across the country.

However, Ubuntu is obsessed with the progress of the others within the group, as others will be obsessed with your progress and prosperity. This collective mindset is underpinned by congruent and consistent development that enables the “togetherness” to thrive. This leads to understanding the world from a collective point of view and constantly asking whether decisions are made in the best interests of the people.

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Andile Nomlala

It is therefore critical for us to clarify what underlines the leadership philosophy of South African leaders today. What are the values that shape the current crop of leaders and to what end have these factors impacted the progress of the country or lack thereof?

Organisations across the spectrum struggle to uphold their organisational values, even struggling with executing strategy at the behest of culture. The underlying assumptions and norms take over the stated values of an organisation, no matter how beautiful they are. Therefore, the question of values becomes even more critical to unearth, likewise, the way leaders are actively building good values in the workplace.

The BMF seeks to promote not only good governance, but also good values.

Ubuntu, one of the values of the BMF, is a driving philosophy that needs to inhabit all members and all managers in the economy. Ubuntu seeks to arrive at a place of a self-knowledge and a commitment to the cause.

This philosophy does not remove the individual, but enhances the individual’s purpose in the collective mindset of the people. Therefore, the BMF seeks to develop managers and leaders with a deep commitment to the country and a clear understanding of their individual responsibility to that cause.

The BMF stands as an environment that continuously challenges the norms, customs and values of the wider society and seeks to establish the value system of the BMF in the whole society.

What we continue to see in corporate South Africa today is the total rejection of black talent at the highest level, where the dominance of white males continues to flourish. Corporate South Africa is displaying an antitransformational attitude, as though black talent is destructive to the economy.

The message and narrative gets interpreted as black people are undeserving of managing this economy and making independent decisions in leadership. It is as though black people need to be managed themselves to behave appropriately and in line with the current corporate culture.

We are, however, very hopeful that the work of the BMF in the next couple of years will continue to shake the foundations of the economy and eventually usher in the critical mass that is so needed at all levels of management in the country.

Ubuntu as a driving force can lead us to this state, a place where black people are at home in their own home.

The need to explore the philosophy of Ubuntu is needed more today in a contemporary African environment filled with competing value systems that seek to undermine our very humanity.

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ANDILE NOMLALA, BMF president, shares why it is critical to unearth the leadership philosophy of South Africa’s leaders

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BMF DEP U T Y PRESIDEN T ’S NO T E

SA’s Leadership DilemMa BMF deputy president ESETHU MANCOTYWA discusses how black leaders, raised under the values of Ubuntu, are struggling to acclimatise to corporate South Africa

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eadership in corporate South Africa today is mainly made up of an eclectic mix of a few baby boomers (57–75 years old), a majority of Generation X-ers (42–57 years) and upcoming millennials (26–41).

In an African context, I believe that this cohort of black professionals grew up in an age preceding the digital era (with millennials being right at the precipice), where life was simpler, people were more physically connected, and there was greater collaboration, solidarity and communality.

There was more “Ubuntu”.

Ubuntu, meaning “humanness, I am because you are”, and believing that the humanness of one is intrinsically dependent on the humanness of others, was a way of life crafted around caring for each other and sharing what we had with our communities.

It aimed at empowering all to be valued to reach their full potential. An Ubuntu style of leadership is based on collective solidarity and the greater good rather than individualism.

Ubuntu can play a vital role in how leaders can be sensitive to and manage our historical inequalities. The following principles of Ubuntu ought to be sacrosanct in a South African leadership context.

• A nonracial philosophy or value system according to which all people are regarded and treated as human beings.

• A philosophy of tolerance and compassion.

• A philosophical concept that accepts humankind is one whole comprising various racial groups.

STRUGGLING IN THE CORPORATE WORLD

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Black leaders in corporate South Africa who have mostly been raised in an “Ubuntu” context are leaving their jobs or job-hopping because they struggle to acclimatise.

Corporate South Africa is a world where individual glory and material success are often pursued at all costs, and the emotional and psychological safety and wellbeing of others

Do we throw up our hands in resignation and leave corporate South Africa in its current form?

The answer is not on our watch and never in our name.

2019, and Bongiwe Gangeni, then deputy CEO of the Retail and Business Banking Division, in November 2021. What makes Bongiwe’s exit even more intriguing is that it came not long after the highly publicised “mutual separation” of Absa with its former CEO Daniel Mminele.

Our perception of these two high-profile senior female executive exits is that they stayed and fought long and hard enough to rise to senior levels, but did not see any further upward mobility within the group and so decided to leave.

Absa is only an example and a microcosm of the system called corporate South Africa.

It is simply their propensity for highly public fallouts that renders them an easy example most can identify with.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE? Esethu Mancotywa

are scarcely considered. At its worst, it can break a human spirit and render the most accomplished black professional depressed, demoralised and burnt out. We thus move from company to company searching for a place where our duality can survive. The duality of being a high-performing, highly qualified and experienced black professional, while simultaneously having empathy, compassion and a desire to uplift people.

Let’s take Absa as an example where it appears that senior black executives have acquired a tendency for Houdini-style disappearing acts characterised by almost no media publicity and certainly no public announcements by the executives themselves.

For instance, the silent exit of Nomkhitha Nqweni, then CEO of the Wealth Investment Management and Insurance Unit, in November

There simply cannot be any form of sustainable political stability in a country where 80 per cent of the population does not have a meaningful stake in the ownership and management of their economy.

Do we throw up our hands in resignation and leave corporate South Africa in its current form? The answer is not on our watch and never in our name. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the country’s economy is in the private sector; we therefore cannot hand over our economy to the minority when we are the majority.

There simply cannot be any form of sustainable political stability in a country where 80 per cent of the population does not have a meaningful stake in the ownership and management of their economy. And whether they acknowledge it or not, even the wealthiest one per cent of South African citizens need political and economic stability in this country.

And so, we encourage black executives to continue to fight for their rightful places in the corporate world. We need black captains of industry, and we will fight alongside you.

We encourage black entrepreneurs to continue to build businesses that can employ black professionals. We need black conglomerates, and we will build alongside you.

The BMF will continue to be the watchdog of antitransformative practices in all corners of this society. We will lobby, engage, challenge, advocate, support and defend.

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A DV ER T ORI A L MP UM A L A NGA ECONOMIC GROW T H AGENCY

MEGA’S COMMITMENT TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN MPUMALANGA The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency is focused on fostering sustainable growth and development of the Mpumalanga province’s economy, writes ISAAC MAHLANGU, CEO

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n 2022, the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) identified alignment with the government’s Nine-Point Plan as one of the catalysts for accelerating growth in investment and business activities in the province. This is in line with MEGA’s mandate to stimulate growth across various sectors of the provincial economy, providing opportunities to residents through the funding of projects and promotion of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and co-operatives.

VISION AND PRIORITIES Government’s Nine-Point Plan aligns with MEGA’s priorities, which are informed by our vision to be a capable, credible, and resilient institution, making a meaningful and measurable impact on the growth and development of the Mpumalanga economy.

Founded in terms of MEGA Act 1 of 2010, our institution’s primary purpose is to foster sustainable economic growth and development in the province. So, we strive to fund economic activities that will primarily

I AM CONVINCED THAT MEGA HAS A PIVOTAL ROLE TO PLAY IN ADVANCING SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES IN OUR PROVINCE. 8

benefit previously disadvantaged individuals.

These include, property development, the granting of housing loans and the development of small enterprise and agricultural businesses.

We also focus on project management, development and management of immovable properties. Another key area of focus is the promotion of foreign trade and investment to enable businesses to grow and contribute to the province’s economic growth.

While this mandate may seem huge, it is made easier by the fact that our agency implements the policy mandate of the provincial government. To this end, government’s Nine-Point Plan is a logical point of departure for MEGA to attain some of its objectives.

ALIGNMENT WITH THE NINE-POINT PLAN The Nine-Point Plan includes: • the revitalisation of agriculture and the agro-processing value chain • advancing beneficiation, adding value to our mineral wealth • effective implementation of the Industrial Policy Action Plan

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MP UM A L A NGA ECONOMIC GROW T H AGENCY A DV ER T ORI A L

WE HAVE DEVELOPED SPECIFIC PACKAGES OF INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND ACHIEVE QUANTIFIABLE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT GOALS. ABOUT MEGA The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) is the trade and investment promotion arm of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government.

It aims to position the province as an investment destination and a regional trade hub.

THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

MEGA’s head office is located in Mbombela, Mpumalanga.

• • • • • •

Isaac Mahlangu

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency website.

For more information: Mr Isaac Mahlangu 013 755 6328 www.mega.gov.za

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IN DESPERATE NEED OF A NEW ECONOMIC PLAN DUMA GQUBULE shares that economic transformation and inclusive growth can only happen within a context of higher rates of GDP growth

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fter a technical rebound during 2021, South Africa’s economy has returned to its pre-pandemic trend of low gross domestic product (GDP) growth and soaring levels of unemployment.

The war in Ukraine, stringent lockdowns in large Chinese cities, soaring inflation and rising interest rates in the rest of the world will reduce global GDP growth and dim the prospects of recovery of a local economy that has taken body blows from renewed load shedding and floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

With economists predicting low GDP growth and a rising unemployment rate until 2030, the outlook for transformation and inclusive growth is poor though there has been an uptick in empowerment deals and a strengthening of employment equity laws.

After a decade of low GDP growth between 2009 and 2019 – the economy grew by 1.6 per cent a year – South Africa suffered its worst recession in almost a century.

GDP collapsed by 6.4 per cent in 2020 due to the lockdowns implemented to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, the economy grew by 4.9 per cent – a bounce back from the previous year’s lows primarily because the lockdowns were less severe during the year. But the damage was severe. South Africa has an unviable economy. Between December 2008 and December 2021, the economy shed 225 000 jobs, while the labour force increased by 6.3 million people, according to Statistics South Africa’s Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021. The number of unemployed people increased by 6.5 million people to 12.5 million.

The expanded unemployment rate increased to 46.2 per cent. The country had unemployment rates of 77 per cent for youth, 50.7 per cent for black Africans, 55.7 per cent for black African females, 53.2 per cent in the Eastern Cape, 52.8 per cent in Limpopo and 52.4 per cent in Mpumalanga.

WITH ECONOMISTS PREDICTING LOW GDP GROWTH AND A RISING UNEMPLOYMENT RATE UNTIL 2030, THE OUTLOOK FOR TRANSFORMATION AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH IS POOR. HUNGRY CITZENS In 2020, about one in two South Africans were living in households with a per capita monthly disposable income below Statistics South Africa’s upper-bound poverty line of R1 300 a month, according to a report by the Department of Social Development’s expert panel on basic income support.

About one in five South Africans had inadequate access to food, says a Statistics South Africa report. In 2021, the National Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey found that about 1.8 million people and 400 000 children lived in households affected by perpetual hunger, which is defined as hunger every day or almost every day. Women were more likely to shield their children from hunger than men.

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ROCKY ROAD TO RECOVERY At the beginning of 2022, there was hope for a strong economic recovery since most lockdown restrictions had been lifted. The government’s hopes were pinned on an economic recovery and reconstruction plan with two components – infrastructure-led growth and structural reforms, code for privatisation, deregulation, liberalisation and the withdrawal of the state from network industries, electricity, transport, telecommunications and water.

But in 2021, South Africa had an investment ratio of 13 per cent of GDP. The annual shortfall to achieve the 30 per cent target set in the National Development Plan (NDP) is R1-trillion. The government has budgeted for infrastructure spending of R812.5-billion over the three years to 2024/2025. That is equivalent to about four per cent of GDP a year.

The annual shortfall to achieve the 10 per cent target in the NDP is R400-billion.

Since 2019, the government has allocated a budget towards a planned R100-billion infrastructure fund, but each year, Treasury has cancelled the allocation. The fund has no money. The structural reforms, most of which are in the energy sector, will not go very far in closing the annual investment shortfalls.

Also, Treasury’s own forecast – GDP growth of 1.8 per cent a year between 2022 and 2024 – suggests that it believes that its recovery plan will deliver a faster rate of growth in the economy. The global economic outlook deteriorated sharply when Russia invaded Ukraine the day after finance minister Enoch Godongwana made this forecast in the 2022 budget.

Domestically, the biggest binding constraint on GDP growth is load shedding.

Absa’s quarterly perspectives publication says: “Energy supply appears to be worse than we had previously anticipated. To put this into context, 2021 was the worst year ever for load shedding, but in the first four months of this year, Eskom has implemented load shedding for roughly the same number of days, but at a much higher intensity.”

“IThe National Income Dynamics Study Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey found that about 1.8 million people and 400 000 children lived in households affected by perpetual hunger.”

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BLACK MANAGEMENT FORUM – THE ECONOMY

EQUITY, OWNERSHIP AND TRANSFORMATION

IMAGES: SUPPLIED, ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/JJ GOUIN

Former Black Management Forum president Mncane Mthunzi says the government must increase its investments in infrastructure projects – roads, bridges, clinics and schools – not vanity projects to create jobs and inclusive growth. It must also increase the size of the expanded public works programme. “The government must go back to developing technical skills. The big mistake was when the government decided to close technical colleges.

“We must provide loans for people to start businesses as plumbers and electricians.

Companies must also contribute and spend the three per cent of net profit after tax target in the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment scorecard on supplier development initiatives. They must also increase employee share ownership plans because not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. The trade unions must come on board and campaign for the democratisation of ownership in the economy. Share schemes cannot be just for directors,” he says.

Black Economic Empowerment Commissioner Zodwa Ntuli is cautiously optimistic that companies are implementing ownership schemes. The commission’s research has analysed 473 BEE transactions worth R553-billion submitted to her office between 2017–2018 and 2019–2020. There were 272 transactions worth R188-billion in 2017–2018, 95 transactions worth R112-billion in 2018–2019, and 106 transactions worth R253-billion in 2019 and 2020. “This is a significant number and value of transactions, but we are cautious because they may not

Mncane Mthunzi

UNEMPLOYMENT, AN EXPERT’S TAKE Zodwa Ntuli

have been implemented properly. We are doing further analysis and will be publishing results of transactions between 2020 and 2022.”

Tabea Kabinde, chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE), believes that recent amendments to the Employment Equity Act will yield results in terms of a faster transformation.

“The Commission advised the Minister of Employment and Labour to introduce employment equity amendments currently in progress in Parliament. They will empower the minister to regulate sector-specific EE targets and the issuing of EE compliance certificates to expedite change and economic transformation in our labour market. The amendments aim to also check compliance on substantive equality, something the CEE has not been able to measure until now,” she says.

However, the most important lesson of the past 28 years is that economic transformation and inclusive growth can only happen within a context of higher rates of GDP growth.

Between 2004 and 2008, the economy grew by 4.8 per cent a year. Most of the economic value from BEE transactions was created during this period. The economy also created 3.1 million jobs between March 2003 and December 2008. The expanded unemployment rate declined to 28.7 per cent from 40.6 per cent during this period.

South Africa desperately needs a new plan to achieve higher rates of GDP growth, accelerate economic transformation and prevent a predicted disaster scenario of rising levels of unemployment until 2030.

PwC economist Lulu Kugel says South Africa has retained its position as having the highest unemployment rate in the world.

The official unemployment rate of 35.3 per cent put the country ahead of Angola (32.9 per cent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (31 per cent) and Kosovo (25.8 per cent).

“Our current macroeconomic outlook sees real gross domestic product growth moderating to a new long-term average of around 1.5 per cent from 2024 onwards.

Based on our statistical analysis of the relationship between economic and employment growth, this growth pace could create nearly two million jobs by 2030.

“However, at the same time, the country’s labour force will continue growing as more people enter the labour market after finishing secondary and tertiary education.

Under our baseline scenario, the new jobs created by the end of the decade will not be enough to absorb all these new (unemployed) workers.

As a result, with current trends in mind, we expect the narrowly defined unemployment rate to increase to 39.3 per cent by 2030 from 35.3 per cent at the end of last year. It is likely that, under this baseline scenario, South Africa will remain in the top (worst) spot globally on both the total and the youth unemployment rate for the foreseeable future.”

“THE TRADE UNIONS MUST COME ON BOARD AND CAMPAIGN FOR THE DEMOCRATISATION OF OWNERSHIP IN THE ECONOMY. SHARE SCHEMES CANNOT BE JUST FOR DIRECTORS.” – MNCANE MTHUNZI EMPOWERMENT

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TO BANK OR NOT TO BANK MONDE NDLOVU, head of advocacy and thought leadership at the Black Management Forum, shares that the state-owned banking and finance industry remains fragmented and needs to be recalibrated

Monde Ndlovu

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he South African economy has struggled to register positive and meaningful economic growth in the last decade, and National Treasury has projected a 1.8 per cent average in the next three years. The country, described by former president Thabo Mbeki as two worlds, continues to underperform and underutilise its human capital. The recently tabled budget by the finance minister further exposes the country’s structural challenges.

The commodities boom and revenue collection mechanisms have assisted greatly in softening the blow on consumers and servicing the country’s debt. Only 12 million people out of an economically active population of 39.7 million are formally employed. National Treasury has also exposed that 46 per cent of the population receive a grant. If there were no commodity boom coupled with a more efficient

revenue service, the minister would have been under severe pressure to increase taxes, severely impacting the economy. This is not a sustainable situation for South Africa, therefore the country needs bolder ideas, starting with the banking and financial services sector.

BANKING NEEDS A MAKEOVER According to Stats SA, finance is the biggest industry, contributing 24 per cent to the gross domestic product. The banking and financial services sector is lauded and taunted as one of the most sophisticated worldwide. This is a strange paradox – South Africa has a world-class financial system, yet it operates in the most unequal society in the world. This system has not sufficiently grounded itself in the context of the country. There are indeed two worlds, possibly even more, in South Africa.

This is a strange paradox – South Africa has a world-class financial system, yet it operates in the most unequal society in the world.

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Capitec is challenging the established commercial banks. It has the largest client base in the country, with the lowest costs for banking. Capitec has entered the space the People’s Bank was pursuing under the stewardship of the late Lot Ndlovu. According to Brand Finance, “the brand continues to position itself as the nation’s leading retail franchise, delivering a low-cost alternative to traditional banks, and has already built a strong, loyal customer base”.

The debate of a state bank to service the lower end of the market, and attract the underbanked, continues to rage. Past attempts to build black-owned commercial banks have been swallowed by the very system and not defended by black people with real vigour and clarity. People’s Bank is one example of a bank aggressively aiming to service the lower end of the market, but its aspirations were halted and arrested (that is a story for another time).

African Bank, founded by black trailblazers, has had its challenges but still exists today.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) wanted to sell its stake in African Bank, presenting a great opportunity for black people, and even the state, to acquire an equity stake. A BEE consortium could have been created to acquire this stake and drive the transformation agenda through African Bank. The Public Investment Corporation could have been approached to fund the transaction – this could have placed the bank on a different transformational trajectory.

The South African Postbank, a state-owned banking institution, draws its mandate from the Postbank Amendment Act of 2013 to provide accessible and affordable financial services, including lending, to the unbanked and underserved. Although not yet a registered bank, it does participate fully in the national payments system. The ongoing crisis of separating the Postbank and the Post Office is delaying the process of acquiring a banking license. The SARB has also required the bank to have a bank-holding company, which will play an oversight role in banking policies and management. The Postbank has satisfied the SARB on its capital adequacy ratio of 30 per cent.

The state also owns the Development Bank of South Africa, Ithala, Industrial Development Corporation and Land Bank.

The state-owned banking and finance industry remains fragmented and needs to be recalibrated, clarified, and executed with precision. Postbank must overcome its current challenges so it can provide for the lower end of society, providing quality financial products that can dent poverty, unemployment, and inequality.

The debate around humanising the financial system is not yet closed.

IMAGE: SUPPLIED

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP – FINANCE INDUSTRY

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LEADERSHIP

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n the past few years, the number of black executives hired to lead some of the biggest companies in South Africa has increased. According to PwC’s 13th edition of the Executive directors: Practices and Remuneration Trends Report, black, coloured and Indian representation at CEO level of the top 100 JSE-listed companies remains very low at 22 per cent. This is a mild improvement from the previous statistics of 14 per cent, although it remains far from representative.

Even though the hiring of black CEOs has increased, their stay at the helm of leadership has been short-lived.

One example is Basani Maluleke, the first black woman to lead a South African bank. Maluleke resigned after three years of being the group CEO of African Bank. It was said that she has moved to greener pastures.

Another example is Daniel Mminele, the Absa Group’s first black CEO, who resigned after two years with the company. In a joint statement released by Mminele and the bank, Mminele states: “It is indeed regrettable that we should have had to part ways so soon on our journey.

It is, however, important for the chief executive to be in complete alignment with the board on critical issues such as strategy and culture. I became enamoured of the brave, passionate and ready people of Absa and wish the group well for the future.”

Bonang Mohale, president of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), says corporate executives leave because they are invited to the party, but not given much room to dance. “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Belonging is bringing your own music and being allowed to play that music,” Mohale explains.

He says South African boardrooms are not a true representation of the real South African demographics.

“When you get to the South African boardroom, one would think you are in Europe, not in Africa.”

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This, he believes, is one of the reasons many black executives exit corporate South Africa quicker than their white counterparts.

DISADVANTAGED FROM THE GET-GO Business analyst Khaya Sithole agrees. He says even the black executives who occupy, or have occupied corporate spaces, are tied up by nondisclosure agreements.

“There’s a huge information asymmetry. Those who have been fortunate enough to enter those positions and exited are not ready to share the information.

So those who enter after them enter from a point of blindness.”

Sithole adds that from the start, many executives entering the corporate leadership space enter from a disadvantaged position, especially those who come in as “outsiders” and then head straight to the Khaya Sithole CEO position.

“Daniel Mminele at Absa is the perfect example of this,” says Sithole, adding that Mminele never got enough support to transition and settle into his role.

“It wasn’t a question of whether he understood the bank or not; it was whether he understood that particular institution. None of the former black executives were able to assist or at least enlighten him to navigate the organisation’s politics, structure and values.”

The Black Business Council (BBC) says many CEOs are appointed as a tick-box exercise.

“You find that this environment is not prepared to accommodate them; it’s very hostile,” says the BBC CEO, Kganki Matabane. “Many get frustrated and leave.”

Matabane says black people need to be afforded the opportunity to own these companies so that the problem is solved at root level.

“Ownership is key, and blacks don’t own much, meaning they don’t have much power,” he explains. Matabane and the BBC believe that shareholders play a crucial role in the ongoing crisis around hiring and retaining black executives.

“Shareholders give the board a mandate and the board implements it. If the board is not told

to hire a black CEO or is told to fire one, that’s what they will do,” he says.

The BBC has met with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and will continue to lobby through them as well, says Matabane, adding that “the PIC is a shareholder in all these big companies. So, we’ve asked them to appoint the right board members. We need board members who are pro-transformation”.

The Black Management Forum (BMF) says on the ground, black executives are just tired of fighting for inclusion.

“The problem is structural and black executives are just trying to navigate,” says Esethu Mancotywa, BMF deputy president.

The BMF says the government has a role to play.

“Government has Kganki Matabane immense legislative power. But our government is not using its legislative powers to legislate black people out of poverty,” she adds.

“As black business lobby groups, we can try to fight and scream, but legislative is where it’s at,” Mancotywa says.

She believes that government might have missed its opportunity to make the necessary changes to many of the economic empowerment legislation.

“There was a time when the ANC had two-thirds majority in Parliament and could have passed transformative policies that would fundamentally shift the way corporates behave, but they missed that opportunity,” she says.

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IMAGES: SUPPLIED

ANELISA TUSWA investigates the challenges faced by black CEOs as they transition to top leadership roles

• Women remain under-represented in executive and board membership roles in private sector organisations.

• In 2020, PwC’s Executive directors: Practices and Remuneration Trends Report revealed that women represent only six per cent of the total number of CEOs of JSE-listed companies.

• The University of Stellenbosch Management Review, March 2020, found that: “Women make up 51 per cent of the South African population. Yet, only 20.7 per cent of directors of JSE-listed companies are female.”

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

NO ROOM TO PLAY YOUR OWN MUSIC?

FAST FACTS

PROFILE

BUILDING A GLOBAL BRAND Founder and director of iMED Tech Nneile Nkholise, voted among the top female innovators in Africa by the World Economic Forum in 2016 and 2018, chats to DENISE MHLANGA

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IMAGE: SUPPLIED

hat started as research on how technology can be used to create medical prostheses resulted in the “accidental” establishment of iMed Tech in 2015. Mechanical engineer, innovator and iMed Tech founder Nneile Nkholise says she was pursuing her post-graduate studies and researching the 3D application of additive manufacturing in medical prosthesis fabrication.

“I was curious about how to apply this technology in real-world case studies that could translate into high growth businesses that create positive effects on the economic and healthcare sectors,” says Nkholise.

She chose to focus on an area close to her heart – breast cancer – resulting in the Neyne breastform, a product designed for women who have undergone mastectomies. The prosthesis is light, comfortable and as natural as a real breast. iMed Tech specialises in designing and manufacturing medical prosthetics, bio-implants, and surgical planning models for people who have lost body parts to diseases or accidents.

Her innovative work with iMed Tech has won her numerous awards, including Forbes Africa under 30 (2018), South African Youth of the Year issued by the Office of the President (2017), Industrialist of the year in Southern Africa (CNBC Africa 2018), South African representative at Global Entrepreneurship Summit (2016), Africa’s top Female Innovator issued by the World Economic Forum (2016), and Top 5 winner in the SAB Foundation social innovation awards in 2015.

Nkholise is a firm believer that young African women could be leaders of future healthcare and innovation globally and that society should never give up on children born

“Thola enables investors to purchase fractional shares in organic agricultural assets like high production bulls, and earn returns from their semen sales, equally, investors can trade shares through peer-to-peer share trading,” she says.

Nkholise says this business has been years in the making. In the last 10 years, she has travelled to over 30 countries globally and learnt more about rare agricultural crops and livestock. Over time, she built a private portfolio of investments in rare high yield agricultural commodities.

While her millennial peers were passionate about wealth creation and investing in stocks, nonfungible tokens and cryptocurrencies, Nkholise believed there was an untapped opportunity for investing in agricultural commodities. “Currently, agriculture is not fully exposed to investors through public markets, hence Thola was established.”

CHALLENGES

Nneile Nkholise

differently. With innovation, children with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, for example, have a fair chance of changing the world.

GLOBAL BUSINESS Nkholise, now based in San Francisco in the United States of America, has gone on to found another business and continues to be involved in entrepreneurship initiatives.

She left iMed Tech in 2019 to become an entrepreneur in residence at Harambeans, a group of African innovators working together to unlock start-ups in Africa.

In August 2020, Nkholise founded THOLA, an online platform for organic agricultural commodities share-trading marketplace that connects global investors and high yield agricultural commodities.

NKHOLISE IS A FIRM BELIEVER THAT YOUNG AFRICAN WOMEN COULD BE LEADERS OF FUTURE HEALTHCARE AND INNOVATION GLOBALLY.

Starting and running a business is no mean feat, and Nkholise likens the process to eating glass as the pain is excruciating in the beginning and you feel like giving up.

“With time, it gets better and the pain is slightly pleasurable.”

She urges entrepreneurs to see their projects through, adding that women will have to work extra hard to reach the bar of excellence as this bar would never be lowered to meet them at a certain point.

Nkholise’s move to Silicon Valley was strategic, as she wanted to be closer to a community of diverse innovative founders from around the world who are driven to build impactful businesses.

“Even though I had built a successful tech company in South Africa, there was very little in the form of a community of innovators, especially women founders and I needed to feed my innovative mind, hence I moved.”

Although it was difficult to get through the regulatory hurdles of being a foreign national and adjusting to a new work environment, she has amazing work opportunities she couldn’t have imagined, such as connecting with commercial farmers.

“This move has been the biggest achievement of my career so far; I don’t think there is anything that could top that,” concludes Nkholise.

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2022/06/15 9:00 AM

Making a difference Zyda Rylands shares her career journey at Woolworths and offers some advice to women who want to get ahead in business.

By RYLAND FISHER

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fter a long career in retail giant Woolworths that started in 1995, Zyda Rylands was replaced as South African CEO last year and put in charge of the South African food business until the end of 2024. In some quarters, this move by the company was viewed with misgivings, but Rylands says it had everything to do with her health.

“I lost both my parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in the space of 10 months and contracted long COVID myself, forcing me to reassess my priorities and approach the Woolworths board with a request to take early retirement. I was just very tired. They asked me whether I would be prepared to stay on to run the food business. I agreed to stay on for three years, and I am busy resetting the strategy, making sure a successor is identified and set up for success. Then I am off in 2024,” she says.

In her 27-year career at Woolworths, Rylands, now 57, has occupied many positions, most of them far removed from her qualification as a chartered accountant. But she has always seen herself as a people’s person, which explains her involvement in the Black Management Forum (BMF) almost from the minute she joined Woolworths in 1995.

She joined the company as audit manager in the finance department and became the executive assistant to the then CEO after only being with the company for a few months.

Soon after this, she won the BMF’s Manager of the Year award in the Western Cape. She later joined the Western Cape board of the BMF, which exposed her to more board positions, mainly nongovernmental organisations in the beginning, but soon also other commercial boards, including FirstRand.

THE BMF WAS A SPRINGBOARD “If it was not for the BMF, I would not have been exposed to the many board opportunities that came my way,” she says.

“Inside Woolworths, I worked very closely with Nolitha Fakude, who went on to become the president and the managing director of the BMF, and we wanted to be a voice for change in the company. We decided that we would empower people with knowledge and process.

We spoke to anyone in the company who we thought could help drive change.”

But working in the office of the Woolworths CEO, also exposed Rylands to the company’s board and “demystified it for me”.

In 2005, 10 years after joining the company, Rylands became a director of Woolworths South Africa and later joined the board of Woolworths Holdings. She says her exposure in the BMF was a springboard for her involvement on many boards.

FROM TEACHER TO WOOLWORTHS’ EXECUTIVE Rylands began her career as a teacher to pay back her student loan. She taught for a year at Crystal Senior Secondary School in Hanover Park, the same school from where she matriculated. She is still involved with the school, and in the community of Hanover Park, partly through the feeding scheme she started in memory of her father.

She detoured via a petroleum company for a short while before ending up at Woolworths, where she has spent the bulk of her career.

Rylands worked in several departments in Woolworths, including finance, retail and human resources. She worked as a regional manager, a divisional executive, chief operating officer and human resources director.

When she took on the human resources director post, she insisted that there should be greater transformation in the business, including more black people on the board and at other senior levels. Her official title was people and transformation director.

She eventually spent six years running the Woolworths SA food business and turned the struggling business around before becoming Woolworths SA CEO in September 2015, a position she held until August last year.

Rylands says that, if she could, the only thing she would do differently on her journey in Woolworths would be to gain international experience.

“But I have no complaints about my time with the company. I have worked with many interesting people and been exposed to many others, including government ministers and the president.

It has given me a completely different lens.”

“I have worked with many interesting people and been exposed to many others, including government ministers and the president. It has given me a completely different lens.”

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PROFILE

Zyda Rylands

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SHARING WHAT SHE’S LEARNED Rylands says she would like to share with young women some of the lessons she learned in the advanced management programme at Harvard University.

“The first thing is to become who you are.

Do not pretend. Do not change to become someone else once you are in the business, because then you are in the wrong business.

My father taught me to speak truth to power, and he and my mom taught me that the greater your success, the greater your responsibility. My mother always said that I should not let anyone be afraid of me. They should respect me.

“The lessons I learned at Harvard were anchored in life’s purpose. What is your purpose? Why do you matter? Why are you in this world?

“The main reason I stayed at Woolworths all this time is because the Woolworths values are very much aligned to my values. That does not mean that my time here has been without challenges, I just practice this ‘speak the truth’.

“Women need to be clear on their purpose and what they stand for as individuals, and this must be accompanied by humility. At Harvard, they asked ‘how do you want people to feel in your presence?’ Even if you are delivering a difficult message, it must be one that inspires people to do better. That is the privilege of a leader.

“I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN PUSHING BOUNDARIES, BUT HAVE NEVER WANTED TO BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE I AM A WOMAN OR A MUSLIM WOMAN.” “Women should be clear on where they want to go, and please, do not outsource your career to anyone. Nobody can define where you need to get to, and you are not in competition with anyone. You define your own path in any organisation. Just follow your path and be clear about where you want to go. If you cannot get it in the organisation you are working for, then find another one.”

Rylands says that the biggest challenge came after she returned from pilgrimage to Mecca with her parents and decided to wear a headscarf. “I had to sit the directors down and tell them that this was what I was going to do.

‘You are going to see me wear a headscarf, but please do not treat me any differently’.

“I have always believed in pushing boundaries, but have never wanted to be treated differently because I am a woman or a Muslim woman. I am, first and foremost, a human being, a person, thereafter, I am black, I am Muslim, and I am a woman.”

Rylands says that South African corporates have not done enough over the past 28 years of democracy to transform themselves to represent the diversity in our society.

“Black people now have political power, but most of the economic power is still sitting with white men.

“I am pleased that we started, under my leadership, an inclusive justice initiative at Woolworths, which tries to deal with racism.

A lot of businesses do not like to deal with the conversation around race and racism. They prefer to talk about diversity.”

CONTINUING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Rylands says she will welcome being able to take a break when she retires at the end of 2024, but “I don’t think I can ever stop building or making a difference”.

She says she wants to spend more time in the Giving Feeding Team Foundation (GIFFT), which she started in honour of her father. “I had the privilege of selling my shares and donating to the charity, but I want to invest more time and effort in the foundation so that I can make a difference. I want to serve on boards, and I hope to mentor. I hope to speak at leadership sessions at universities or schools. I want girls to understand their power to make a difference, to be themselves, be authentic, and show up who they are.”

She says she will continue to be involved in Hanover Park, including supporting the high school where she matriculated and “I would love to continue doing flower arranging for weddings, but I might also like to paint”.

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CELEBRATING

BLACK EXCELLENCE JERMAINE CRAIG looks at why inclusion and mentorship are critical to successful leadership transition

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elebrating black excellence in corporate South Africa is a crucial necessity in “a society originally set up for blacks to not succeed”.

In celebrating black excellence, we are sharing and showcasing what it takes to not only survive, but also thrive often against incredible odds and barriers.

“While we celebrate, we also need to reflect on how much needs to be done to address the many inequalities that still exist. Through celebration we are not only focusing on the financial and personal success of an individual, but also a society working towards building a better life for all and challenging ill-conceived narratives,” Dr Shirley Zinn says Dr Shirley Zinn, an acclaimed activist and one of the country’s foremost corporate human resources practitioners.

Formerly a senior human resources director at companies such as Standard Bank, Nedbank and Woolworths, and currently the chairperson of the V&A Waterfront, Zinn says that while many corporates have made commitments to social

justice, transformation, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, much still needs to be done.

“If we are truly to celebrate black excellence, we need to ensure that transformation is actively accelerated, and social injustice, inequality and racism are squarely addressed through our policies, procedures, practices, culture, and the experience employees, customers, communities, regulators and suppliers have with the business. We need to see much more action and execution on these commitments.

Many (companies) are rethinking their values, purpose and impact on society.

This has led to more intentional focus and reporting progress in enterprise development, socioeconomic development, black economic empowerment, employment equity, supplier development, and financial and nonfinancial support for black-owned small businesses,” Zinn says.

Rather than transformation being seen as a tick-box exercise, Zinn believes companies genuinely need to understand what transformation means in the South African context and “how we shift hearts and minds so that it permeates everything we do”.

“We need to use every recruitment opportunity, every opportunity to upskill, reskill and develop people, progress and promote, recognise and reward, and create inclusive cultures where people can thrive,” says Zinn.

Creating that environment, says Nene Molefi, CEO of Mandate Molefi HR Consultants, cannot be done in a “piecemeal” manner; it needs a deliberate systemic approach.

“Companies must provide the tools and a guided iterative culture-change model that will ensure that diversity, equality and inclusion are embedded in a company’s system. A sustainable approach to diversity needs a diverse, representative team that collectively co-creates a company’s culture,” Molefi said in a recent conversation with global HR think-tank Wide Angle Conversations.

Zinn says advocacy, mentorship and sponsorship in the workplace are key to development, empowerment and upliftment, and a diverse leadership pipeline.

“We require leaders who are empathetic and care about their people and communities, are ethical, inspirational and transformational, and deliver.

“Mentorship is pivotal in the development of our young leaders. It is a relationship based on trust and respect that seeks to unlock embedded talent and human potential in another person. It is about supporting the personal and professional growth of a mentee.

A mentor can share wisdom and experience, share the story and the journey, and give perspective on a role, career and choices that need to be made. Mentorship is a great opportunity to truly make a difference and give back,” Zinn concludes.

”A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO DIVERSITY NEEDS A DIVERSE, REPRESENTATIVE TEAM THAT COLLECTIVELY CO-CREATES A COMPANY’S CULTURE.” – NENE MOLEFI

COCA COLA’S LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME JERMAINE CRAIG talks to S’bu Mngadi, who had a front-row seat to one of South Africa’s most seminal corporate transformation and leadership stories

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hen the Coca Cola Company decided to fully reinvest in South Africa in 1997 after divesting in the 1980s due to the country’s political situation, S’bu Mngadi was a central figure in helping drive the company’s multibillion-dollar expansion strategy into Africa, with South Africa

as an important continental base for that expansion.

Coca Cola was a global company with little local know-how or experience in its ranks when it returned to South Africa.

In his first role with Coca Cola Southern Africa as vice president and director of communications, public policy and S’bu Mngadi

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LEADERSHIP

SANLAM’S OWN TIMBER JERMAINE CRAIG looks at what sets Sanlam’s leadership programme apart

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

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A differentiator for Sanlam is its groupwide mentorship programme, allowing Sanlam’s bright young turks to learn alongside – and benefit from – the experience of the company’s old hands.

Other key points of difference from Sanlam’s graduate leadership programme are the functional and technical training to hone graduates’ professional skills, structured leadership development competencies, mentoring and group coaching and networking opportunities with graduates and young professionals across the group.

Sanlam prides itself on the company’s six pillars of reputation, leadership, reward, growth, balance and connectivity, and the company’s experienced staff play an important role inculcating these into new members of the workforce.

“There is a particular culture in a company that makes it different to other places. So how do you make sure when people come to you, they do not bounce or suffer from ‘organ rejection’. At Sanlam, the institutional memory resides with the experienced staff, but we also need to ensure the old establishment is receptive to new ideas. Conflicts are bound to happen, and management must be ready to deal with young people that talk back. But as a company, you have to find ways of dealing with that and ensure you expand as you grow,” says Mvusi.

anlam has long been acknowledged as a blue-chip South African company that prides itself on its ability to attract, retain and nurture bright young talent.

“Growing your own timber started many years ago at Sanlam, based on the challenge of finding good young talent, particularly black talent – which is very scarce – and nurturing them through the ranks,” says Sanlam’s former CEO of market development and long-time Sanlam director and executive, Temba Mvusi.

Mvusi retired from Sanlam in December 2020, but is still involved with the company, mentoring some of its senior leaders.

He says that Sanlam has been fortunate to have a loyal group of employees that invariably stay with the company for the long-term.

“If you rely on natural attrition, it does not always open up opportunities. So how do you create spaces and opportunities for young people and entice them? Young people are impatient; they want things now. You have to find ways of managing their expectations and try to tie them down with golden handcuffs and guard against the revolving door syndrome, where young talent easily leave your company,” says Mvusi.

This is why Sanlam spends a great amount of time and effort on attracting good young talent – one of its standout programmes is the 18-month graduate leadership programme.

SANLAM PRIDES ITSELF ON THE COMPANY’S SIX PILLARS OF REPUTATION, LEADERSHIP, REWARD, GROWTH, BALANCE AND CONNECTIVITY.

sustainability in 1996, Mngadi was the only black director and vice president in the company, and the only South African in the company’s senior management.

To find and develop new talent in one of Africa’s newest democracies, Mngadi was tasked with driving a R30-million graduate development programme called Kusile (new dawn), which was rolled out over five years.

“We recruited 30 university graduates each year from all the country’s universities, and put them through a year-long boot camp. They were in a classroom setup, but they also got their hands dirty at the coalface of operating

a profitable Coca Cola bottling company, from legal to production to operations, marketing, sales and distribution. After a year, those graduates were absorbed into the Coca Cola system, deployed in the company or with its bottlers, before we took on the next layer of trainees,” Mngadi explains.

The next level of empowerment and leadership development involved the company creating a talent development committee. This was to ensure that for every foreign national or expatriate holding a senior leadership role at the company, there would be two or three mainly black deputies ready to step into

Temba Mvusi

This programme provides structured development opportunities, focusing on self-development and leadership competencies, as well as the opportunity to earn valuable technical experience and placements across multiple fields in Sanlam’s business such as personal finance, investments, short-term insurance and experience of its Africa business.

those positions in the next year, two or three years.

“Many of those graduates became Coca Cola warriors in Southern Africa and across the globe. It was our contribution to counter what at the time was brain drain and replace it with brain gain. Our programme was a pioneering transformation and leadership programme, which the likes of Old Mutual and Sanlam replicated over time. Even if we lost some of the graduates we produced to other companies, we took the view that South Africa gained,” says Mngadi, now senior partner at a leading global corporate advisory firm.

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PPC 130

years

PPC HAS ALWAYS ASSISTED MY BUSINESS, HELPING ME TO BUILD IT IN MYRIAD WAYS. “Perhaps most notably, they gave the business a brick-making machine and mixer two years ago, which provided an initial boost, and has now enabled us to acquire four different moulds, to make different types of bricks for our clients.”

LESEDI LEDWABA 16 E Tona Sand and Bricks Zone 4, Ga-Rankuwa

#130YEARSUNSHAKEABLE PPC CELEBRATING UNSHAKEABLE YOUTH

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PP C A DV ER T ORI A L

AN EMPOWERMENT FOCUS AS STRONG AS CEMENT PPC focuses strongly on empowering women and youth, writes RODNEY WEIDEMANN, as these young business owners testify

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In a similar vein, Eve Johnson, MD at n a country hamstrung by high youth Yakhumuzi Bricks and Paving, points out unemployment and caught on the horns that her Mamelodi hardware business, of patriarchal domination, the need to consisting of two stores, a warehouse and a empower black women and the youth has manufacturing plant, is a 100 per cent black never been greater. female-owned company, started by her Understanding this, PPC works closely mother, Audrey Johnson. with a number of black female-owned or “We manufacture our own youth-led hardware entities, bricks and paving today, with a view to assisting business thanks to PPC helping us growth and increasing over the past eight years. The their skills. company not only helped A good example of this us set up our manufacturing is Lesedi Ledwaba, owner plant, but also provided a of 16 E Tona Sand and machine and continuous Bricks cc, a company started technical support. And, by her father, Phillip, selling they helped us access the bricks and sand. After she took programme to obtain SABS over the business, Ledwaba Lesedi Ledwaba approval, which we hope to notes that PPC played – and complete later this year,” continues to play – a significant she says. role in helping her to grow her company.

Johnson indicates that PPC has provided “PPC has assisted me in building my training and support to business in multiple ways, from providing the her team, assisting not initial container where we stored our cement to only with the technicalities assisting me with exhibiting at a construction of the machine, but also expo,” she says. with knowledge around “They gave the business a brick-making the right aggregate mix to machine and mixer two years ago. This produce the right levels of provided an initial boost and enabled us to brick strength. PPC also acquire four different moulds to make different provided a facility for testing types of bricks.” the bricks’ quality.

She adds that PPC also provided the “The training my relevant training for her and her employees, Eve Johnson employees and I received offered access to facilities for testing brick around their different quality, and helped her determine the correct product lines has been fantastic. It certainly pricing for the bricks. gave me the confidence to recommend products to consumers, as well as the BUILDING BUSINESSES knowledge to choose certain lines and get “Thanks to PPC’s assistance, we have rid of others, thus ensuring effective business expanded the business from six to a staff of growth,” she says. over twenty. This growth has enabled me Sometimes, however, the support required to realise another of my father’s dreams: from PPC is slightly different, as Rayhaan he wanted to empower women, and I have Ahmed, manager at Build It Ahmedia, been able to create jobs for women in my points out. He explains that his grandfather community while demonstrating that they are launched Ahmedia Build in 1964 as the first just as capable as men.”

“PPC HAS ASSISTED ME IN BUILDING MY BUSINESS IN MULTIPLE WAYS, FROM PROVIDING THE INITIAL CONTAINER WHERE WE STORED OUR CEMENT TO ASSISTING ME WITH EXHIBITING AT A CONSTRUCTION EXPO.” – LESEDI LEDWABA

Muslim-owned hardware store in Athlone, Cape Town, one of several family-owned stores that joined the Build-It franchise in recent years.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER His father took over from his grandfather, and Ahmed grew up helping in the business.

However, he says he was in his third year of studying medicine when his father passed away unexpectedly, and he Rayhaan Ahmed left university to run the business.

“I know that a customer wanting to buy cement will likely have many questions around grade, ratio of mix and so on, so it was vital for me to know my products to be able to answer such questions. Between PPC’s training courses and the knowledge provided to me by their rep, I have been able to grow my understanding extensively, and I can now sell customers an experience rather than a product.

“My goal has always been to make the customers’ in-store experience the best that it can be, and PPC aligns perfectly with this approach. If we need anything – from signage to an urgent truckload of cement – they are always willing to help.

“PPC is a proudly South African brand and my cement provider of choice,” he concludes.

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the PPC website.

For more information: www.ppc.africa ContactUs@ppc.co.za

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SOCs Increasing THEIR impact TIISETSO TLELIMA looks at those state-owned corporations that are developing and empowering communities

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ransnet, through its foundation, has adopted an integrated model to make a positive socioeconomic impact in local communities with priority given to those communities where the company operates.

In 2021, the company invested R112.2-million in community development initiatives countrywide. The investment constituted R107.7-million in planned initiatives in the areas of health, education, sport, employee volunteerism and socioeconomic infrastructure development. Moreover, an additional R4.5-million was invested in COVID-19 relief efforts.

“Transnet’s social licence to operate in communities across the country is a result of the organisation being a good corporate citizen, and its ability to respond adequately to the needs of communities and other key stakeholders in these locations,” says Transnet’s spokesperson Ayanda Shezi.

The company’s CSI arm has been in existence for over 20 years in various forms.

“Our community investment programmes

are underpinned by the organisation’s commitment to uplifting, empowering and bringing about sustainable meaningful change in the communities where we operate,” explains Shezi.

At a strategic level, the company’s CSI supports the operations of the organisation and enhances the value proposition through sustainable socioeconomic interventions, says Shezi For example, its flagship project, the Phelophepa I and II healthcare trains, provides primary healthcare services to vulnerable communities, assisting with alleviating the burden on the country’s overstretched healthcare facilities. The trains have become so popular that people gather long before they pull into the station. Some people sleep at the station all night, hoping to be first in line for the “good, clean health”

that the name of the train promises. They may need glasses or a toothache eased, while some need counselling or medicine for high blood pressure. Each train has a permanent staff of 22 healthcare professionals, including nurses, healthcare educators, opticians and dentists. The trains also carry managers, translators and security staff. Local workers are hired on a temporary basis.

Both trains have continued with the establishment of community food gardens as well as basic healthcare training programmes with community volunteers. In 2021, over 344 000 patients were assisted through the trains, including 36 000 patients who were provided with spectacles and 28 000 people who were vaccinated for COVID-19.

INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES Sanral, on the other hand, has spent nearly R29-million on community development (CD) projects in the 2021/2022 financial year. The company sources the labour required for the projects from the local areas, with preference

“SANRAL TRIES TO MAXIMISE ITS IMPACT IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND STRIVES TO LEAVE A LEGACY THAT REMAINS LONG AFTER THE CONSTRUCTION.” – VUSI MONA

Phelophepa Train

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STATE-OWNED CORPORATIONS

Pedestrian walkways Chesterville (N2)

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THE ATLANTIS SEZ ALSO RUNS A COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER NETWORK THAT REPRESENTS THE NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY AND BUSINESSES FROM 10 DIFFERENT SECTORS IN THE AREA. given to small contractors and suppliers. “We prioritise CD projects consisting of road-related infrastructure upgrades within communities where it impacts on the national road,” explains Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona.

In the Eastern region, Sanral constructed community walkways and public transport facilities along the R22 national route between the town of Hluhluwe and the Kosi Bay border post with Mozambique. Mona adds that in the southern region, the rehabilitation of the N2 Section 19 between Nqandu and Mbokotwana River and the safety improvements at Dan’s Country Lodge have added immense value to the affected communities.

The scope of work included building access roads and walkways within the villages in the proximity of the main project. The expenditure on the project was just over R4.2-million, but is expected to reach R21-million by July 2023.

Lastly, in the Northern Cape, pedestrian facilities will be developed in Kagung. The works entail pedestrian walkways as well as access roads in the town, connecting to the N14. Approximately R660 000 is earmarked for this project.

“Sanral tries to maximise its impact in terms of community involvement and strives to leave a legacy that remains long after the construction,” explains Mona. “This goes beyond improved infrastructure and is geared to prioritise capacity-building in communities so that they have the necessary tools toll enable them to access further developmental opportunities that may come along through other entities.”

In the absence of construction-related CD projects, Sanral works with municipalities to identify training needs in the community and then puts that budget towards skills development and capacity-building across various spheres, depending on the identified needs. For instance, through its bursary and scholarship programme, Sanral has made a significant contribution to the lives of young people across South Africa to enable

them to follow their dreams in education. In the 2021/2022 financial year, 225 learners received scholarships to the tune of more than R6.3-million. Notably, 71 per cent of scholarship recipients were girls.

At the same time, Sanral awarded external bursaries to 135 students across 16 tertiary institutions in South Africa to cover both postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications.

“The new policy provisions allowed Sanral to extend awards to students within the built environment, therefore expanding the reach further than civil engineering to include students in computer science, mechatronics, human resources, LLB and electrical engineering, accounting, supply chain and quantity surveying,” explains Mona. The total amount spent was more than R9.5-million.

Both Sanral and Transnet have been unaffected by the National Treasury’s decision to halt some projects because of the 30 per cent local procurement rule. “Sanral has always included a contract participation goal requirement in all its construction projects, even prior to the 2017 Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act regulations,” says Shezi.

CREATING JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was promulgated and opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to function as a special economic zone to attract investment and create economic growth. Atlantis SEZ is dedicated to the manufacturing and provision of service in the green technology space.

“We work with entities that manufacture or produce in a green manner, what that means is that they make use of technologies in the manufacturing process that have a positive impact on our carbon footprint,” explains Ellen Fischat, an executive of Integrated Ecosystems at Atlantis SEZ. Historically, Atlantis SEZ, situated 40 kilometres outside Cape Town, was established for the manufacturing sector in the 1970s.

When the manufacturers closed down, many families lost their income and were forcibly removed. It wasn’t until 2011 that Ebrahim Patel, then minister of trade, industry and competition, did a feasibility study to see if the area could be revitalised as a special economic zone.

Since then, an estimated R700-million has been invested in the Atlantis SEZ, of which R475-million has been by Gestamp Renewable Industries, a wind tower manufacturer.

A geotextiles manufacturer has invested R130-million to date, and a double-glazed window manufacturer invested R50-million. A wind tower internals manufacturer has invested R25-million and R20-million was recently invested by an acetylene gas manufacturer. As a result of these investments, about 312 new jobs have been created in the zone. Gestamp Renewable Industries employs 295 staff, of which 80 to 85 per cent are Atlantis residents.

“One of the projects we are funding is a food security and incubation programme,” says Fischat. “We’ve got 21 food entrepreneurs in the project, and we’ve taught them technical skills and how to use green technology such as hydroponics.”

The Atlantis SEZ also runs a community stakeholder network that represents the needs and interests of the community and businesses from 10 different sectors in the area. Renee Ryk, who runs an early childhood development (ECD) business, represents home-based ECD centre owners in the network. “Many of the women who are opening these centres are women without work and we had various challenges with registrations and managing the financial side of our businesses,” explains Ryk. She says Atlantis SEZ runs workshops that have Renee Ryk helped the ECDs to become more sustainable and taught them how to manage their finances. “It really equipped us with skills on how to manage our income and expenditure and how to work out yearly budgets,” says Ryk. There are 210 ECD centres in the programme.

The next step is to help them write funding proposals where they will be awarded R10K funding toward their businesses.

“The female business owners were brought onto this platform very intentionally,” explains Fischat. “We also wanted to shift perceptions because often people think green technology is expensive and only for people from a very high LSM; that it’s specifically for a certain race or class. We never think it’s for us people of colour.”

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A DV ER T ORI A L UNI V EN INNOVAT I V E GROW T H COMPA N Y

The main entrance to the University of Venda.

UIGC GETS THE PUBLIC CONNECTED A private company started by the University of Venda about 13 years ago has been steadily adding to the university’s revenue, and is set to increase its contributions significantly over the next few years as it branches out into providing fibre and mobile connectivity. By RYLAND FISHER

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he University of Venda Innovative Growth Company (UIGC) is wholly owned by the university and has contributed about R100-million a year towards the university’s revenue and has grown into a group of companies with a holding company, says the Group CEO, Dr John Mudau.

But with the launch of UIGC Connect, formed to operate in the technology space providing

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fibre and mobile connectivity, projections are that UIGC Connect will add more than R700-million to the university’s revenue in the first years of operation, with this amount steadily increasing over the next few years.

Mudau explains that UIGC Connect is an internet service provider. “We build, operate, and maintain our own internet infrastructure within the Vhembe District Municipality,” says

Mudau. This is a fourth industrial revolution brand operating in the Limpopo Province, with two licences granted by ICASA: • Class Electronic Communications Network Services Licence (No: 1743/ CECNS/NOV/ 2020).

• Class Electronic Communications Service Licence (No 1743/ CECS/ NOV/ 2020).

These two licences Mudau explains, allow UIGC

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UNI V EN INNOVAT I V E GROW T H COMPA N Y A DV ER T ORI A L

DR JOHN MUDAU Dr Mudau joined UIGC in 2015 and has two and a half years to go of his second five-year contract. His initial training is in social work, he then did a master’s degree in management, a PhD in development studies, and an MBA. He has worked at several academic institutions as an administrator and academic.

Mudau says what attracted him to UIGC initially was what he understood the company wanted to achieve in terms of training. “I thought I could make a difference because of my business background.

“I was attracted by the fact that the university wanted to create an entity that would create value and increase their third-stream income.

At the time, the thinking was that we should become the equivalent of what had been done at Wits, the University of Pretoria, Stellenbosch and the University of Cape Town. But we took a different route, and now we run businesses that vary from security, to gardening to a telecoms company.

“I have been fortunate that, throughout both my terms, I have had good support from the UIGC board. As they say, the success of any CEO is largely based on the support the CEO gets from the board. They are fully behind the management team, and we can dream all we want because our board dreams equally.”

to build network infrastructure and provide data to the public. He adds that the university wants to ensure that its students, particularly those who are in private residences, have stable internet connectivity. “The university has also been granted wayleaves by both Thulamela and Collins Chabane municipalities. These wayleaves allowed the university through UIGC Connect to build network infrastructure in those areas.” Right now, UIGC Connect is the only company that can set up fibre in the district allowing them to provide Wi-Fi to the public.

UIGC Connect operates in phases. Phase one was geared to benefit 42 university-accredited private accommodation spots. Phase two will then cater for the public.

“We already have more than 4 000 subscribers in Thulamela. While our target was to connect the university community,

Dr John Mudau, CEO of UIGC, presenting the UIGC Connect Brand.

UIGC’s GROWTH Dr John Mudau says that when he joined UIGC seven years ago, there were only three units, which were not even registered as Propriety limited ((Pty) Ltd) companies. “We had the training, consulting, and an editing and proofreading unit.

“Our commercial enterprises include UIGC Connect, UIGC Security that deals with the provision of guards, and UIGC Gardening, which offers landscaping and cleaning services. We also run a commercial farm, called the Barotta Farm, which produces bananas and macadamia nuts, among others. We will also add two other critical portfolios: a property portfolio, where we plan to build a big conference facility in Makhado, and a financial services business that will see us provide members with short-term insurance, including life and funeral cover, and motor car insurance.

“The growth of UIGC has been phenomenal. Perhaps the extent of the growth is greater than what was expected when the company started. I think that when the company was conceptualised in 2010, the idea was to develop a training entity that would provide online learning programmes for academic credits lower than 120,” says Mudau. “When I joined, the company had only three staff members; I was the third staff member. Now in my second term, we have almost 500 staff members, with an executive team of six. We have registered six entities with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission as (Pty) Ltd companies owned by the UIGC holding company.”

then the entire Vhembe community, our ultimate goal is to eventually offer our services to the entire country.

“UIGC Connect will provide many employment programmes, one of which will train artisans or technicians in the IT space, they will assist us to ensure that the platform runs properly. We are going to appoint more than 20 technicians.

“We are also in the process of building fibre networks. To date we have already appointed about 70 people to undertake temporary work building the fibre network within the Thulamela municipality. We are also going to public stores and facilities where our products, including branded UIGC Connect SIM cards, will be sold enabling people to make calls even at the furthest end of the district.

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A DV ER T ORI A L UNI V EN INNOVAT I V E GROW T H COMPA N Y

“From there, we want to establish four stores, one in each local municipality. For us this is a good thing because this is where our contribution towards job creation, particularly sustainable jobs, will be realised.

We envision that UIGC will create about 200 sustainable jobs.”

PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYS “It is quite exciting to think that a company owned by the university is now participating with the giants in the telecom space.

We already have an advantage in that we have locked in the market within the Vhembe district, where we are the service provider of choice in terms of building fibre networks and ensuring that there is proper connectivity,” Mudau explains.

“Some of those big companies have already approached us to partner with them, particularly because we are an ISP. Some of these companies are keen to use our fibre network.

“We are excited about this because we think it will change the face of internet in the area as it is going to assist the local municipalities to morph into smart cities.

“Our control room, our operating centre in Thohoyandou, has state-of-art equipment to do what we envision for the province. We are very confident that in about 24 months, Thulamela municipality will become a smart city, all because of UIGC Connect. We are excited about this. We think the nation has to know that amazing things are happening in rural areas.”

Univen administration building.

Mudau says that they project that the Wi-Fi for the students and the community will bring in almost R700-million in the first five years. “In the next five years, we will be sitting at R3.5-billion revenue, this is based on our calculations for providing Wi-Fi and connectivity throughout the Republic.

“UIGC Connect will provide the biggest revenue the company has ever realised in the past 12 years.

UIGC OPERATIONS

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UIGC Connect Launch

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the Univen Innovative Growth Company website.

For more information: info@uigc.co.za www.univen.ac.za

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

The UIGC has several subsidiaries, which have also been remodelled over the years. “We believe we have been an amazing success story that shows how an ordinary entity owned by a public entity can evolve into what it is today. We have a good story to tell,” says Mudau.

“UIGC started as a private company, with the sole mandate of assisting the investor (the university) to generate additional revenue. The company shares its revenue with the university at the end of every fi nancial year. It is, effectively, the commercial wing of the university.”

Mudau says UIGC has about 500 full-time staff members, spread over the different companies in the group. Everyone is employed full-time, except the CEO, who is on a five-year term contract. UIGC does not use any university staff and only interacts with them as a shareholder and a client for some of its services.

The university is a client of UIGC’s security and gardening services. “Of course, these companies can still provide any other services outside of the university. It is worth mentioning also that the UIGC security and gardening services companies emerged as a way of solving the insourcing crisis. We provide the services that the university requires, and then we extend our services to anybody outside.”

“The only area where the university is involved in is through the Univen Continuing Education unit, where we use the university’s processes to have our qualifi cations accredited. Other than that, we are independent.”

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BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

THE B-BBBE COMMISSION JOURNEY The office of the B-BBEE Commissioner was set up in terms of an Act of Parliament in 2013. DENISE MHLANGA finds out if the office has seen any significant success in nine years

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ince the government introduced the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act in 2003, black people, including Africans, coloureds and Indians, in South Africa have made strides in economic participation and the workplace. Black businesses now have access to procurement opportunities and ownership deals they didn’t have before. Many black people occupy senior, executive and board positions in both the private and public sectors, thanks to B-BBEE requirements.

Businesses that integrate black people in the workspace and support black businesses receive points that they can claim on a B-BBEE certificate, increasing their chances of obtaining government contracts.

“Progress in the implementation of B-BBEE is painfully slow, and more needs to be done, especially in economically empowering township and rural communities and women,” says Zodwa Ntuli, commissioner for the B-BBEE Commission.

Established on 6 June 2016, the B-BBEE Commission is a regulatory body that monitors and advances the implementation of B-BBEE policy and legislation and acts against violations such as fronting and misrepresentation of B-BBEE status.

The implementation is measured through five key elements: ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socioeconomic development. Both private and public sector entities are annually required to contribute towards these elements.

“In the five years of existence, the B-BBEE Commission has proved that it is a formidable regulatory entity focused on achieving compliance through guidance and advice and, in some instances, invoking the enforcement action,” says Ntuli.

SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES

IMAGE: SUPPLIED

In 2017, the rejection rate for noncompliant transactions was over 32 per cent, but

training, and misalignment of training to the critical skills required often undermine the progress of skills development.

Black women representation on the board of JSE-listed companies has been stagnant at 20 per cent, while white directorships continue to dominate (56 per cent), followed by black males (23 per cent). Overall, black directorships account for 43 per cent.

“The shrinking number of black women is concerning, and directing skills development funds towards growing a pool of black women for these positions could solve the problem.”

General lack of knowledge about the B-BBEE Act and its benefits still persists in various sectors. The B-BBEE Commission has embarked on awareness campaigns in various provinces to increase awareness.

FRONTING

Zodwa Ntuli

dropped to 18.9 per cent during the 2020/21 period. The B-BBEE Commission has recorded 528 major B-BBEE deals valued at over R550-billion in the past five years.

Ntuli says there is an emergence of sale of assets promoting a “more skin in the game” approach to empowerment and private equity fund deals, showing active participation by black asset managers. If implemented well, the value of these deals will translate into higher margins in the hands of black people in 5 to 10 years.

According to the Annual National Status and Trends on B-BBEE Report 2020, black ownership moved from 29 per cent in 2019 to 31 per cent, with black women ownership increasing from 12 to 14 per cent.

Management control rose to 57 per cent from 39 per cent in 2019.

She adds that there’s been some improvement in skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socioeconomic development contributions. However, lack of adequate planning, poor and ineffective

Fronting, in which some ownership deals purport to facilitate the transfer of ownership, strips black shareholders of participation rights and economic benefits – this is a major obstacle in implementing B-BBEE. During the 2020/2021 period, the B-BBEE Commission handled 909 complaints, issued findings in 423 cases and resolved 22 through alternative dispute resolution with over R105-million paid to black partners.

Ntuli says under current legislation, no administrative penalties can be imposed on offending entities until they are convicted in a criminal process. Additionally, legislation prohibits the B-BBEE Commission from publishing its investigation findings, and there’s no dedicated tribunal to hear fronting matters.

RESOURCES GENERIC CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE

B-BBEE REGULATIONS

RESEARCH REPORTS

“PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF B-BBEE IS PAINFULLY SLOW, AND MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE, ESPECIALLY IN ECONOMICALLY EMPOWERING TOWNSHIP AND RURAL COMMUNITIES AND WOMEN.” – ZODWA NTULI EMPOWERMENT

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INVESTMENT

HOW INVESTOR-FRIENDLY IS OUR ECONOMY?

FAST FACTS

ANELISA TUSWA looks at the success of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s investment drive

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OTHER CHALLENGES Skenjana adds that the growth of FDIs has been too slow. He says the biggest problem after load shedding is policy instability, driven by the country’s political cycle. “We’ve got local elections, then two years later national, and two years later, back to local. What it means from a political and policy front is that there’s no continuity.”

Skenjana stresses that those in power have 18 months to deliver, and their lack of delivery during that process deters investors’ confidence.

SELL IT RIGHT The National Empowerment Fund (NEF) is an organisation at the core of investment and empowerment. It was established as a driver and thought leader in promoting and facilitating black economic participation by providing financial and nonfinancial support to black-owned and managed businesses.

Andile Stemela, head of the strategic projects fund at the NEF, says how empowerment is sold to both local and Sifiso Skenjana international investors is key. “The nature of how we go out there to market the different available instruments for empowerment is Abedian adds that instead of fixing some of very important,” he says. the key problems in the country, there’s a false Stemela maintains that funding and narrative that investors are being chased away acquiring businesses with an empowerment by transformation and empowerment policies. factor should never come at the cost of “Wherever you go in the world, there’ll the quality of the product or service. “Our always be a policy about the inclusion of responsibility is to make sure that there’s local people.” absolutely no compromise in the quality of Both Abedian and Sjekana agree that work produced by our investees.” government needs to make the economy an One of the NDF’s key roles is to invest or investor-friendly environment. “Investors will buy a stake in black-owned businesses and always follow value,” says Skenjana, adding equip them with the necessary that empowerment is not skills to grow. a one-size-fits-all policy.

Stemela believes that “once Investors can empower there’s certainty around the locals through various ways, business and the project is including shareholding, senior standing up to all masters, it management positions, and becomes clear to any investor even adding them through the that the empowerment element supply chain value system. of it is just an enabling factor, “There are many avenues given the realities within South to create a sustainable Africa and its past”. and inclusive economic Andile Stemela Since its inception in 2005, the marketplace with foreign NEF has approved over 1 200 investors,” says Skenjana. transactions worth R12.35-billion countrywide, “The spirit of transformation is good, but with a total project value of R21.44-billion. some of the mechanisms used have not Together, these businesses have supported necessarily worked.” more than 112 905 jobs, of which 71 874 were new. All the projects mentioned have been in support of previously marginalised groups, including women.

SIFISO SKENJANA

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our years ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to attract trillions of rands of investments into the South African economy. So far, the investment drive has attracted 95 per cent of its targets. That’s roughly R1.14-trillion worth of investment commitments. “An investment conference is one thing, investment directly into the economy is another,” says Iraj Abedian, economist and founder and chief executive of Pan-African Investment.

Abedian says the conferences have been talkshows, which yielded little to no results for the South African economy. He says most of the investment pledges could only be realised when the challenges facing businesses are addressed. “There are different challenges facing different sectors, but a lack of reliable energy and Eskom is a shared problem,” says Abedian. “For 14 years now, the government has failed to address it, and investors are losing confidence.”

Iraj Abedian But despite the energy crisis, chief economist at ESG Analytics Sifiso Skenjana says foreign direct investments (FDI) have marginally improved in the past five years.

“Most of it has been on the energy front, followed by infrastructure.”

• SA planned to attract R1.2-trillion investment over five years.

• R1.14-trillion (95 per cent of the initial investment target) has been made so far (2018–2022).

• During the 2022 investment conference, 80 investment pledges were made.

• The French Chamber of Commerce promised to invest R50-billion (2022–2025).

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