Johannesburg - Former Black Management Forum president Lot Ndlovu has died of cancer, his family said on Friday.
Ndlovu died on Thursday at the hospital where he had been treated for cancer since 2011, his son Monde Ndlovu said. He was admitted on Monday.
“The BMF and the country have lost a truly distinguished visionary, bold and fearless leader, stalwart, valiant soldier and gallant fighter of both socio-economic transformation and the development of managerial capacity, primarily among black people,” Ndlovu said in a statement.
Lot Ndlovu was CEO of Peoples Bank - a division of the Nedbank Group. He was president of the BMF from 1995 to 1999.
The Progressive Professionals' Forum mourned Ndlovu's death.
“It is with great sadness and regret that the PPF mourns the death of a doyen of black economic empowerment in South Africa,” secretary general Siphile Buthelezi said in a statement.
“During his tenure at the BMF, Bra Lot, as he was affectionately called, mentored many young managers many of whom currently occupy senior positions in the public sector and private sector.”
PPF president Jimmy Manyi described Ndlovu a fighter for freedom of oppressed black professionals.
“It must have been around 1988 and I heard Lot Ndlovu on the radio talking about the paucity of black managers in the workplace and the lack of opportunities available to them.
“He made an impassioned but unapologetic plea for change. Needless to say everything Lot said rung true with my own situation in the mining industry. That defined my relationship with Bra Lot, a fighter for emancipation of the oppressed black professionals,” Manyi said.
Ndlovu is survived by his wife Zanele, four daughters, a son, a son in-law and two grandchildren.
He studied business management at Wits Business School, then furthered his business studies in the United States. He held an honorary doctorate from Tshwane University of Technology.
Sapa