JOHANNESBURG – Business Unity South Africa (Busa) and the Black Business Council (BBC) have signed an agreement to collaborate on broad-based black economic empowerment and socio-economic transformation, small, medium and micro-sized enterprises development, infrastructure development and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as these are among the most pressing challenges facing the country.
In a statement yesterday, the organisations said in terms of National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), there will be co-operation on Nedlac structures and processes flowing from the institution, under the auspices of Busa’s membership of Nedlac.
The organisations have agreed to a code of conduct; a communication and reporting protocol; and to collaborate on platforms such as the BBC Black Business Summit and the Busa Business Economic Indaba, the Investment Summit and other business forums.
“This development is a huge milestone as it will allow the BBC to participate at the Nedlac. It will also enable business to speak with one voice on business matters. The agreement is timely as the country is crying for leadership on economic matters and BBC and Busa should rise to the equation and take leadership” said Kganki Matabane, the chief executive of the BBC.
The framework agreement will be implemented through the four-a-side steering committee, with a working group on each of the four areas of economic focus.
“We have made good progress in ensuring that we understand each other better and are now focused on ensuring the strongest possible role for business in building the economy and contributing to inclusive economic growth,” said Busa acting chief executive Cas Coovadia.