For black businesses to realise their full potential within them, they should stop expecting government handouts and get their hands dirty, as government is only the facilitator. This was the moral of President Jacob Zuma’s address to a gathering of 700 delegates on 25 March 2015 during the Black Industrialists Indaba in Midrand.
“You should come up with concrete recommendations on how the government can alter the skewed patterns of economic ownership in the country and avoid lamenting about what the government was not doing right,” Zuma said, calling for the black industrialist initiative to include the participation of women, youth and people with disabilities.
The huge spotlight on the Black Industrialist Indaba should be understandable, given the growing public cynicism on the sustainability and relevance of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) initiatives.
The outcome of the Black Industrialist Indaba is likely to shape the government’s economic transformation framework. Hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry it aims at identifying 100 black-owned companies to help them get funding – as much as R1 billion – to become industrialists.
Giving a hand up not a hand out! True, Mr President! Government can only do so much. In fact, it is writing off billions in failed empowerment initiatives. what happed to the NYDA and Usombomvu???????
where do i get the print version from? I believe it’s tone is like the online platform’s on-the-fence views. It is unlike the Black Business Quarterly, which has too much of feel good stories? Kindly reply with your office details and the name of the managing editor