Billionaire and IT mogul Robert Gumede says black business leaders should be celebrated and upheld when they deliver, not only criticised when things go wrong.
Speaking at a Black Business Council (BBC) tribute event in Johannesburg on Thursday night, Gumede said the country must give flowers to excellence while it’s in motion.
The event was to pay tribute to Eskom CEO Dan Marokane, board chairperson Mteto Nyati, and group executive for generation Bheki Nxumalo for the utility’s steady turnaround, which he said has led to keeping lights on in the country.
The evening was designed to recognise the trio’s contribution to stabilising the grid and restoring confidence in an institution once synonymous with chaos.
But for Gumede, the moment extended beyond Eskom; it was a reflection on how black leadership is treated and narrated in SA.
“It is indeed an honour that we could gather here to celebrate some of the best talents of black excellence that are in our country. Tonight is about celebrating the real people behind the success from dark to light. These are the unsung heroes that moved us from darkness to light,” he said.
Throughout his speech, Gumede emphasised what he described as a national reluctance to acknowledge black leadership unless validated by white or foreign institutions.
“Our problem is we never celebrate our own, we never recognise our own… Where we are wrong, they must call us out as they do. Where we do well, they must applaud us as they are supposed to.
“And for us, the challenge that we have is to say, where we are not recognising ourselves, we cannot demand that other people see us, feel us, applaud us. And I hope this is the beginning of a journey of feeling ourselves, seeing ourselves, and supporting each other,” he said.
Our problem is we never celebrate our own, we never recognise our own…
— Robert Gumede
Gumede described Nyati as a “transformer” whose career, from IBM to Microsoft to MTN to Altron, demonstrated both competence and consistency.
He praised Nyati for bringing discipline to Eskom.
“So when Mteto [Nyati] sent a social media post, he said one thing that really touched me. He said, ‘If André de Ruyter (former Eskom CEO) had done half of what Dan [Marokane] has done in Eskom, he’d be called Mr Fix-It’. Instead, Dan’s efforts are overlooked, attributing Eskom’s turnaround to [the] private sector or a miracle,” he recalled.
He credited the Eskom leadership for preventing public frustration from turning into political rupture.
“If, minister [Kgosientsho Ramokgopa], you didn’t work with the people [and] lift their morale in the power stations, the revolution would have taken place. And we are here to say to you, minister, to the chair in absentia, Dan and Bheki, and the rest of the ESCO members and the many young men and young women who are responsible for this success, it’s about black might. You are buffaloes because buffaloes never leave one of their own behind. You must stay like that, minister, with your team,” Gumede said.
Sowetan