Business fundraiser raises thousands

THE Unashamedly Ethical business and fundraising breakfast at the Elangeni Hotel, which was supported by 266 businessmen and women, raised R76 000 for Unashamedly Ethical (UE), Christian Sports and Business Ministry (CSBM) and iThemba Lethu, and also encouraged South Africans to take a stand against corruption.

The event was organised by Compass Cares, the corporate social investment arm of Compass Medical Waste Services. A total of R52 500 was raised on the day, which was rounded to R60 000, meaning that each of the beneficiaries received a R20 000 donation.

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An additional R16 000 was raised for iThemba Lethu through the silent auction of a photograph by Matthew Willman and signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The photograph, entitled Ubunye, meaning “unity” in Zulu, went to West African Group, the successful bidder.

Craig McIntosh, son of rugby legend Ian McIntosh and committee member for CSBM, was the MC for the morning and after welcoming the guests, introduced the chairman of UE, Dr Marius Fourie, who explained what the goals of the global organisation are.

“Unashamedly Ethical confronts corruption and injustice through co-ordinated, targeted and impactful advocacy and campaigns to advance ethical behaviour. Our objective is to reach a tipping point where ethical behaviour becomes the norm and we do this through lobbying commitment to support ethics, managing a directory of committed organisations and individuals who support each other, and ensuring accountability through an independent ombudsperson,” said Marius.

Next up was Michael Cassidy, patron for UE, evangelist and founder of African Enterprises, who stressed that corruption was a disease spreading through Africa. He challenged individuals and companies to take a stand against corruption and embrace “honesty in detail” – his definition of ethical.

After breakfast, Graham Power, founder of the Power Group and UE, took to the stage to speak on how he transformed his life and his business from the age of 43.

In the mid to late 1990s tender fixing in the construction industry was rife. Graham explained that if the tender was to be submitted on a Friday, for example, the participating companies would meet the day before and reveal their prices.

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The lowest bidder’s price would then be used but significantly inflated and once the tender was awarded, the surplus inflated price, which had been agreed upon, was split between all the tenderers.

After making the decision to become unashamedly ethical, Graham withdrew from this arrangement and when the construction companies were named and shamed on the front page of the newspaper, subsequently to 2010 Soccer World Cup, for tender fixing, he was relieved and grateful that the Power Group was not part of this list.

The morning ended with a question and answer session followed by Graham signing his book entitled ‘Not by Might Nor by Power.’

Visit www.unashamedlyethical.com and consider making the pledge to becoming unashamedly ethical, in both your personal and business capacity.

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