Stop trying to hijack our new dawn or get crushed, warns BBC
BLACK Business Council (BBC) president Sandile Zungu has warned his detractors and those who were trying to hijack the new dawn of black business owners to stop or get “crushed”.
Addressing a two-day BBC summit in Midrand yesterday, Zungu appeared to use the platform to lambaste Sipho Pityana, the president of Business Unity SA (Busa).
New tensions between Busa and the BBC arose after Pityana on Wednesday penned a scathing open letter to Zungu in which he accused Zungu of being an enabler of state capture.
Zungu, who has been the president of the BBC since 2018, responded by accusing his detractors of being part and parcel of putting black business under siege and on the margins of lucrative markets.
“There are dubious characters who are trying to serve as gatekeeper and hijack the new dawn. They say now is our time to eat, yet did nothing to bring the new dawn. They only serve to isolate leaders. We do not need them, and we are not scared of them.
“They are only here to ambush leaders of the BBC with lies through open letters,” he said.
Pityana accused Zungu in the open letter of being used by former president Jacob Zuma as an enabler of state capture.
He also accused Zungu of being Zuma’s economic adviser and taking state-owned enterprises to the brink of destruction.
Zungu said South Africa now more than ever needed a strong voice by black business, and called on black people participating in the South African economy to unite and aspire to a more inclusive society.
“Black businesses are being denied opportunities to do business with the state, because the face of corruption is black, which is not the case.
“White-owned companies like Bosasa have been instrumental in corrupting black government officials. Black businesses are denied an opportunity to do business with the state, because whites have captured blacks,” Zungu said.
Other keynote speakers at the event included Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and African Rainbow Capital chairperson Patrice Motsepe.
Sessions at the BBC summit touched on a number of issues related to economic transformation within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Zulu called for back businesses to have a conversation that would strengthen black people and not divide them.
She said it was imperative to ensure inclusivity in the economy, but reiterated that it was even more important to ensure the realisation of Radical Economic Transformation (RET).
“Whoever says RET cannot happen, they must take a hike. People must not lump us in one corner.
“Entrepreneurship is the catalyst for inclusive growth in South Africa. We will ensure that the ministry will have a twofold purpose to ensure transformation of the economy, because economic growth is correlated to entrepreneurship,” Zulu said.
She lambasted those who wanted to shut down the Ministry of Small Business Development and called on the BBC to join this debate.
Zulu also raised concerns that there were many instances where black economic empowerment funds were enriching white companies through bogus training programmes.
“Our small businesses suffer because of these unaccredited programmes. We need to start participating as drivers of our economy. We need to lift other emerging businesses and need to be able to work together,” she said.
Gordhan said state capture and corruption had destroyed key organisations, such as state-owned enterprises.
“The BBC can be a driver of new partnerships to drive national interest in the country,” he said.