11 December 2009 Break the silence By WENDY LUHABE I was fascinated by the appointment of a new chairman at Standard Bank, and wondered what it signalled in SA' s evolving business landscape . For a start, the usual voices of conscience from the Black Management Forum (BMF) were conspicuous by their silence.

The BMF's interventions on these matters are increasingly selective and inconsistent: they depend on who is involved, and on the person's race and political allegiance. They are not based on advancing the participation of black professionals, executives and intellectuals in SA's economic landscape, which I thought was the BMF's mandate. This betrayal of transformation takes place by black professionals assuming the authority to decide who is politically legitimate for appointments to company boards, for example. The second observation relates to the role of business and its readiness to dispense with individuals who are presumably no longer of any political value to them. This suggests the only value black people have is their proximity to political power, and that experience and competence are irrelevant. It undermines the moral conviction and independent voice of business and undermines transformation. I had assumed that transformation sought, firstly, to redress past injustices by showing that our experience and competence are valuable and deserving of equal participation at the economic table and, secondly, to break down institutional racism, which prevents millions from reaping the fruits of democracy. However, we are creating new injustices based on political patronage. It is not transformation when so many South Africans still lack access to education, capital, information, technology and opportunities to progress. The Eskom incident was telling, particularly the silence from business. Competence and experience became the casualty of a decision that compromised the company. This was a microcosm of all the elements that are SA's Achilles heel. In many critical public-sector entities we have only acting CEOs and chairs, yet we systematically emasculate great South Africans who are considered unpatriotic. Fifteen years ago we spoke of structural constraints inhibiting economic growth. These have now deteriorated to a structural crisis that demands bold leadership. I welcome the long overdue recognition by business that it needs to play a more prominent role in providing experiential stewardship. Business and civil society must be the conscience that provides guidance, and must take bold and public positions. We cannot afford to lose our ability to challenge decisions with potentially harmful consequences that will erode the gains of our young and fragile democracy. Silence is a betrayal, and our generation will be the one that will have to explain to our grandchildren why we kept quiet to protect our personal and business interests at the expense of national ones. Countries achieve greatness by using their strengths and tapping into great minds, irrespective of race or political affiliation; by public debate and by placing national interest above self-interest. Our focus has to be on economic growth, given our social challenges and the income inequalities that have grown in the past 15 years. We may have bought into an illusion of transformation, which has been opportunistic and has sabotaged our noble objectives of opening up opportunities for broad participation. That includes black empowerment, which needs a complete overhaul. Regrettably our collective default position becomes a conspiracy of silence and paralysis because we are afraid to take a stand. We cannot take bold action when we are constrained by fear of and contempt for others. We can achieve greatness only from a position of courage, accountability and mutual respect for diverse contributions, even from those we consider to be our enemies. So what will it be, South Africa? Luhabe is a social entrepreneur