Busa President Jabu Mabuza Photo: Supplied
Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has announced that the main reason it terminated its partnership with the Black Business Council (BBC) is because of the lapse of the 2012-2015 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two business formations.
“The Busa Board formally advised the BBC on 11 May 2017 of the termination of cooperation in Nedlac [a group taking into account the interests and inputs of business, labour, government and civil society],” Busa said in a press statement.
It further stated that “the MoU provided the cooperative framework for promoting the interests of business in Nedlac, which previously enabled the BBC representatives to participate in Nedlac proceedings through the Busa seat”.
In the statement Busa, which describes itself as “the recognised voice at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) for business – representing businesses across all sectors, sizes and formats in the economy”, disclosed that the two parties were unable to reach an agreement on the terms of a new “framework for participation”.
READ MORE: Black Business Council cuts ties with Busa
“Therefore, the BBC will no longer be represented through Busa at Nedlac. This does not prevent the BBC from seeking their own seat at Nedlac in line with the Nedlac Act and Constitution,” the statement continued.
Busa, however, refused to get into a spat with its former partner and said it “does not believe that there is merit on commenting on the BBC release. The decision to terminate the participation of the BBC through Busa in Nedlac, was taken unanimously by the Busa Board”.
In a statement earlier today, the BBC informed the media that one of the factors that precipitated the conflict was the decision by Busa to ‘kick out’ their delegates in one of their meetings.
It said this decision was “informed by recent developments at Nedlac where it became apparent that BBC and Busa were not aligned in relation to key issues facing the economy. Such issues included the impact of the downgrade and on matters of monetary policy, as well as the most appropriate way to address these issues.”
Busa reiterated its commitment to “working with all organised business formations and stakeholders across the broader spectrum of society, including the BBC, within the spirit of co-operation, accountability, collaboration and mutual respect”.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/news-national/zuma-ramaphosa-to-witness-nedlac-agreement-signing/
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