Business Leadership South Africa

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Not to be confused with Business Unity South Africa.

Business Leadership South Africa
Formation1959
FounderHarry Oppenheimer
TypeBusiness lobbying
HeadquartersSandton, Johannesburg
Chairperson
Nonkululeko Nyembezi
CEO
Busi Mavuso
AffiliationsBusiness Unity South Africa
Websiteblsa.org.za
Formerly called
South Africa Foundation

Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) is an independent association that represents the interests of major corporations in South Africa. Members include large South African companies and multinational corporations with a significant presence in South Africa. Founded in 1959 as the South African Foundation, it rebranded as BLSA in November 2005. Its mission is to facilitate effective dialogue with government, civil society, and labour.

History[edit]

South Africa Foundation[edit]

The South Africa Foundation was founded in 1959,[1] amid substantial political unrest in apartheid South Africa. Founded by Anglo American mogul Harry Oppenheimer, its primary purpose was to improve South Africa's global reputation and reassure the international community of the safety of South African investments.[2][3][4][5] Although it accommodated a large corporate membership in the 1980s,[6] it ultimately settled on a membership of the country's fifty largest corporations.[7] Political scientist Scott D. Taylor later described it as the "executive committee of the bourgeoisie".[8]

The foundation served abroad, in the New York Times's description, as "as an independent source of information about South Africa as well as a sort of ad hoc chamber of commerce for the country";[6] in this respect, it was bolstered by a dedicated office in Washington D.C. and by Anglo American's global network of subsidiaries.[2] However, the South Africa Foundation also promoted itself as a pressure group that lobbied the apartheid government to undertake progressive reforms.[6] Representatives of the foundation met with leaders of the anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC) in London in January 1985.[9]

After the end of apartheid in 1994, the South Africa Foundation was critical of the post-apartheid government's macroeconomic and labour policy, publishing a critique of the Reconstruction and Development Programme under the title Growth for All in February 1996.[7] During the same period, the foundation came under sustained attack from Ronald Suresh Roberts, who accused it of having been "actively committed to pro-apartheid culture".[10] In the Mail & Guardian and in the book Reconciliation Through Truth, which he co-authored with Kader Asmal, Roberts argued that the foundation's propaganda efforts had served the apartheid regime; in particular, he pointed to a 1967 advertisement in the Sunday Times in which the foundation had argued that South Africans should stop apologising for apartheid and should instead adopt "a tone of confident self-assertion which publicised the opportunities of apartheid".[10][11]

Rebranding as BLSA[edit]

On 25 November 2005,[1] the South Africa Foundation rebranded as Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), under the mission statement, "Making South Africa Good for Enterprise and Making Enterprise Good for South Africa".[12] Alongside Business Unity South Africa, of which it is an affiliate, BLSA became one of the two leading business forums in South Africa.[9][13]

Response to state capture[edit]

During the presidency of Jacob Zuma, South Africa was wracked by allegations of state capture, which intensified after Zuma fired Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in a controversial cabinet reshuffle in December 2015. BLSA's tepid response to the reshuffle was roundly criticised in the press.[14][15][16] In the aftermath, BLSA took up a more activist stance towards Zuma's government.[17] In October 2016, through the so-called CEO Initiative, the association pledged its support for Nene's successor, Minister Pravin Gordhan.[18] In August 2017, it launched the #BusinessBelieves campaign, which it said would aim to reverse the reputational damage that business had suffered as a result of Bell Pottinger's "white monopoly capital" campaign. BLSA's campaign included the adoption by all members of an "integrity pledge" promising zero tolerance for corruption.[19]

In September 2017, amid mounting allegations that certain member companies had been involved in state capture, BLSA temporarily suspended the membership of Eskom, Transnet, and KPMG.[20][21] Bain & Company was suspended a year later, during the Nugent Commission hearings into Bain's consultancy work at the South African Revenue Service,[22] and it withdrew entirely in January 2022 after further evidence was published by the Zondo Commission.[23]

Current membership[edit]

The association's membership is limited to "major South African corporations", as defined by the board.[24] Members include the executives of multinational corporations with a significant presence in South Africa, as well as corporations based in South Africa; and represented industries include financial services, mining, legal services, management consulting, telecommunications, and brewing. As of October 2023, BLSA's members were:[25]

Leadership[edit]

The following individuals have served as chief executive officer since BLSA was relaunched in 2005:

  • Michael Spicer (2005–2011)[26]
  • Thero Setiloane (2011–2016)[27]
  • Bonang Mohale (2017–2019)[28]
  • Busi Mavuso (2019–present)

Past chairpersons include Bobby Godsell and Jabu Mabuza, and Saki Macozoma served a lengthy tenure as the association's president.[29][30]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Defining Business Leadership". Business Leadership South Africa. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b Pallister, David; Stewart, Sarah; Lepper, Ian (1987). South Africa Inc: The Oppenheimer Empire. Simon & Schuster. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-671-65448-1.
  3. ^ Sampson, Anthony (1987). Black & Gold: Tycoons, Revolutionaries and Apartheid. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-340-39524-0.
  4. ^ Pallister, David (20 August 2000). "Harry Oppenheimer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ Burns, John F. (21 November 1976). "Industry Mellows In South Africa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Gilpin, Kenneth N.; Purdum, Todd S. (4 September 1985). "Director Guides South Africa Group". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b Agupusi, Patricia (3 June 2011). "Trajectories of Power Relations in Post-Apartheid South Africa". The Open Area Studies Journal. 4 (1): 32–40. doi:10.2174/1874914301104010032.
  8. ^ Taylor, Scott D. (2007). Business and the State in Southern Africa: The Politics of Economic Reform. L. Rienner Publishers. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-58826-498-5.
  9. ^ a b Valsamakis, A. (1 July 2012). "The role of South African business in South Africa's post apartheid economic diplomacy". S2CID 151175441. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ a b Roberts, Ronald Suresh (13 November 1997). "Defending spoils of apartheid". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Minister's book slams pro-apartheid business". The Mail & Guardian. 5 September 1996. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  12. ^ Hirsch, Alan (1 October 2020). "Fatal embrace: How relations between business and government help to explain South Africa's low-growth equilibrium". South African Journal of International Affairs. 27 (4): 473–492. doi:10.1080/10220461.2020.1856180. ISSN 1022-0461.
  13. ^ "A new centre of power through mass mobilisation is needed in South Africa". The Mail & Guardian. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. ^ "'On The Brink'". HuffPost UK. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Diplomacy so quiet it often seems inaudible". Sunday Times. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  16. ^ Bernstein, Ann (10 February 2016). "How cowardly SA business leadership chose road to impotence". News24. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  17. ^ Chipkin, Ivor (20 August 2018). "The civil society resistance to state capture". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  18. ^ "These are the 81 CEOs and executives who are 100% behind Gordhan". BusinessTech. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  19. ^ Pather, Raeesa (23 August 2017). "Business leaders promise to 'clean house' in fight against state capture". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  20. ^ "KPMG booted off Business Leadership SA". News24. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  21. ^ "BLSA suspends Eskom and Transnet". The Mail & Guardian. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  22. ^ "BLSA suspends Bain over its involvement in 'yet another state capture project'". Business Day. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  23. ^ Cronje, Jan (18 January 2022). "Bain quits Business Leadership SA so as to not 'distract' from the group's work". News24. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Membership Criteria". Business Leadership South Africa. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Our Members". Business Leadership South Africa. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Spicer quits Business Leadership SA". News24. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  27. ^ "BLSA appoints Bonang Mohale as CEO". CNBC Africa. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  28. ^ Brown, Justin (30 June 2019). "Busisiwe Mavuso is BLSA's new CEO". City Press. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  29. ^ "BLSA ushers in high-profile board members". Engineering News. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  30. ^ "BLSA appoints Mabuza as chair as it unveils new leaders". Engineering News. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
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