‘BEE attracts opportunists,’ says Nene

Nhlanhla Nene, the former finance minister, who is currently an adviser at Thebe Investment Corporation, says BEE was only partly successful.

“If people do not have to work to get to the top, there is a tendency that opportunists start believing they have a right to simply and quickly get to the top,” he said last week.

“For that reason it is very important that practical and meaningful plans are made to support the enforcement of BEE.”

Thebe is one of South Africa’s black empowerment success stories, but ironically, it is not a BEE company.

The company was founded as a trust by luminaries such as former president Nelson Mandela, along with Walter Sisulu, Beyers Naudé, Ernest Mabuza and Vusi Kanyile in 1992.

At the time, there was no BEE legislation.

The intention of the founders of Thebe was to start a black company that would help black people get access to mainstream business in the new, democratic South Africa.

They initiated some businesses themselves, and bought, developed and resold others. One of these was the state-owned airline, SA Express.

Today the company manages assets worth R6 billion and it still has a majority black shareholding.

“Yes, there should be more companies like Thebe, which was founded to create value – unlike today’s companies, which are only established because of benefits to be reaped from the BEE regulations,” said Nene.

“These days, people establish BEE companies purely because there are immediate advantages for them.”

After Nene was fired as finance minister last year, he received numerous job offers, including one from Thebe.

“Thebe’s culture and vision appealed to me,” he said.

“To this day the company still aims to, first and foremost, build communities, while also contributing to transformation and to growing the company.”