BLSA CEO Bonang Mohale
Out of the 400 South African companies listed on the JSE, only 212 have reported on their black economic empowerment (BEE) activities in the last two years, Business Leadership South Africa CEO Bonang Mohale said on Wednesday.
National statistics, he highlighted during an address at the fourth edition of the Vision 2030 Summit, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, show that there is a black representation of only 14.4% in top management positions, 25.5% in senior management, and 49.1% among professionally qualified persons.
An apparent lack of actionable plans in South Africa, stated Mohale, could be remedied by implementing the National Development Plan (NDP) to address among others the challenge of furthering BEE.
In addition to transformation, South Africa also needs to focus on education, Mohale suggested.
The African continent, he said, has a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of about $1.7-trillion.
Despite South Africa contributing about $350-billion to this, he lamented that it is the only country where 30% is deemed an acceptable pass rate in the education sector.
“Until we address gender equality and education issues, we have no hope of ever being internationally competitive,” said Mohale, pointing out that women in the country are paid 74% of what men are paid for the same quality of work.
Further, he noted that millions of South African youths were unemployed and not undertaking any form of education or training.
Meanwhile, he stated that, reaching the NDP vision is not without its challenges, noting that South Africa needs to continue its focus on the four elements of the country’s reindustrialisation, namely the economy, beneficiation, localisation and black industrialists.
Progress in the first three years remained stagnant, he stated.
It was the execution of the NDP that would determine whether South Africa was able to move forward, he said, adding that, “Good execution will save even the most mediocre plan”.