Black professionals urged to uplift SA in name of patriotism

Praise for Godongwana for addressing realities surrounding SA’s transformation agenda

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana is a brave man!

He threw down the gauntlet to black professionals and managers, challenging them to get their act together in “helping the democratic state (South Africa) as it carries forward its transformation agenda”.

That Godongwana beckoned this soul-searching at a gala dinner of the Black Management Forum recently, is revealing and remarkable for an ANC government minister tasked with the difficult challenge of steering the economy from the ravages of internal and external factors that are defined by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the fallout of the Ukraine war, which has also affected every country on earth.

While SMEs are generally regarded as the backbone of an economy, Godongwana sees black professionals as the “primary custodians” of the country’s transformation agenda, which “is not only an economic and political imperative, but also a moral imperative”. There is the morality of post-1994 South Africa addressing the legacy of apartheid, which saw the wanton political and economic marginalisation of black South Africans.

There is the morality of the governance decline and its entrenched state capture and corruption after the first 15 years of ANC rule, especially during the Zuma era, perpetrated by politicians, managers, professionals, cadres and their cronies at the expense of millions of ordinary and vulnerable compatriots.

Godongwana is now asking the current and future generations of black professionals to do some introspection and to contribute to the transformation agenda, not because of self-enrichment, but out of patriotism and the “successful execution of the National Democratic Revolution”.

While good governance in the bureaucracy, institutions and corporates is a given, the minister could have been equally blunt about the socio-economic structural reforms needed for a progressive transformation, which successive finance ministers have acknowledged but failed to meaningfully address, partly because of factional ANC ideological differences.

He did allude to the scourge of public debt, which “currently stands at R4.3 trillion, projected to rise to R5.4 trillion over the medium term. Our debt-servicing costs average R330 billion annually, among the largest portion of our spending”.

In his statement to the Development Committee at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank/IMF in April, Godongwana pleaded for the “availability of more concessional finance (which) is paramount if high and unsustainable debt levels, particularly in middle-income countries, are to be arrested”.

Perhaps an indication that Madiba’s policy of crossing ANC red lines is passé?

What then, does Godongwana expect from black professionals? They, he exhorts, “need to ask the critical question: ‘Why is it that black managers tend to be associated with failure and incompetence?’ If you look at the state of local government, six out of every 10 of our municipalities are in financial distress – their governance is weak, they lack professional and judicious management. These are largely municipalities led by black managers under a black political leadership. We must ask these difficult questions and not shy away from them.”

Black professionals, he added, also “need to help the democratic state in ensuring that the resources at our disposal are managed efficiently, to the benefit of the people”.

The early failures of entities, including the ANC’s investment arm, Thebe Investments, can be mitigated because of inexperience linked to the sudden onset of democratic rule.

Godongwana alluded to the ANC’s “Ready to Govern Document” on affirmative action, which stresses the importance of meritocracy and not “giving positions to unqualified people simply on the grounds of race or gender”, but also “reversing the imbalances of the past” and upskilling and supporting those who “have been kept back by apartheid education and sexist assumptions” to enable them to compete on an equal footing.

Others talk about a serious decline in the quality of tertiary education and vocational training, which according to the WHO has regressed in emerging countries because of the impact of Covid-19.

The contradiction between government aspirations, policies and delivery have affected black professionals, especially in SOEs. The IMF 2022 Article IV Consultation with South Africa in February identified lack of ownership policy, poor oversight, inconsistent legislative framework and corruption scandals in procurement and administration.

These have turned managers at Eskom et al into political “yes men/ women”. Increased managerial autonomy to limit politicisation with expanded powers for SOE managers on pricing, personnel decisions and

Board composition would be a step in the right direction.

The Commission for Employment Equity, in its latest report, paints a grim picture about the pace of transformation in the South African economy.

The progress of black Africans into top management positions averaged 15% between 2018-2020.

For coloureds and Indians, it remained at 5.7% and 10.6%. At 65%, whites continue to dominate top management roles.

If Godongwana wants to adopt a successful solution to economic transformation and policy delivery, he could emulate none other than Madiba. His first two terms saw some extraordinary material improvements in living standards and delivery successes in affordable housing, education, and electrification, more than any emerging market has demonstrated over the past 30 years.

The democratic dividend saw the number of black people with jobs doubled.

Ten formal houses were built for every new shack being erected. The number of university students doubled. The murder rate was cut in half. The number of black buyers of suburban property rose to rival the number of white buyers.

Economic growth rose to average 5% between 1994 and 2007. Government debt levels halved, and a budget surplus was recorded – something the ANC never received due credit or recognition for – especially in the media.

The lesson that Godongwana is in danger of acknowledging is that the legacy of apartheid remains a stubborn feature of society, chiefly because it has also been poorly addressed by ineffective policy, lack of political will and entrenched corruption.