The government’s plan of creating a class of 100 black industrialists might have been dismissed as farfetched but a black economic empowerment consultant believes it is attainable.
In an article titled Now is the time to create black industrialists, Managing director of Transcend Capital, a specialist black economic empowerment ownership advisory firm, Bruce Hunt, says that the country is already on the right path towards creating black industrialists, mentioning ongoing developments as evidence.
Firstly, the government is not merely awarding tenders, but asking companies to commit to localised manufacturing and buying from black-owned businesses. A good example is the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) 20 year programme to have its trains designed, manufactured and supplied locally.
Last year, Transnet entered into its biggest empowerment transaction yet – a R15.5 billion five-year fuel supply contract awarded to nine empowerment companies, giving them access to energy logistics supply chain. This model, asserts Hunt, needs to be extended to other state-owned enterprises.
Businesses now have to partner with and procure from 51% majority black-owned businesses. One of the signs that this is gaining traction is that Godisa Fund set up a R165 million supplier development programme fund to offer loans and capital resources to small manufacturing enterprises.