The Black Management Forum (BMF) takes a hard-line on the appointment of Daniel Du Toit, Denel’s new CEO. In an interview with Transform SA Thabile Wonci BMF’s Managing Director explained how government should prioritise appointing black professionals.
“It is clear to the BMF that government themselves are ignoring their own good advice to the country at large and are the ones who are actively slowing down the pace of transformation in the country. The concern is that the private sector remains largely untransformed despite engagements with the BMF and that government is supposed to set the tone. It therefore becomes imperative for government to up their ante instead of missing what is a perfect opportunity to appoint a black professional in this top management position. The excuse that both government and private constantly give is that there is never a black professional available or willing to take up these positions. We find this very hard to believe that in a country of approximately 51 million South African blacks there isn’t a single suitable candidate. It just becomes all the more absurd to suggest that Mr Du Toit is the only suitable candidate in the whole country,” said Wonci
Du Toit is expected to assume his role on 14 January 2019. On Thursday afternoon the ministry of public enterprises and the Denel board made the announcement in a joint statement, “Mr Du Toit brings with him a wealth of experience in the defence and manufacturing sectors and a solid career track record that will be of value to the Denel group.”