Issue 24 November 05 - February 06

Sizwe Mncwango, MD Masana Petroleum Solutions

The practicalities of empowerment may differ from one country to another, depending on prevailing socio-economic and political conditions, but the principle behind empowerment never changes - inclusion of all shades of opinion, no matter how estranged, in the process of creating a holistic programme for the greater good of all.

Interestingly, that inclusiveness is an inherently African trait, which means that in every African country, even the most impoverished ones, the emotional and spiritual tools for upliftment and empowerment already exist. All that's needed is to tap into them in a structured way - to redirect the energies of the country by means of a carefully thought out agenda focused on upliftment.

Maintaining a balance
In South Africa, of course, the process of empowerment has a particular flavour - in the form of what we formally call broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) aimed at bringing black South Africans - disadvantaged by apartheid (the 'have-nots') - into the mainstream, without disenfranchising the incumbent white mainstream players (the 'haves').
The prerogatives regarding this process are still in the hands of the haves, but government and the rest of society - including capital - have re¬alised that if the process were left only to the goodwill of the conscientised haves, progress would be very uneven. Official and public intervention has therefore been necessary. In terms of that intervention, South Africa has gotten two things right.
The first was an insistence on negotiation - dialogue amongst all shades of opinion - and an insistence on bringing everyone involved to the table. This gave people with significant differences the confidence to air their views in the knowledge that they would be considered seriously. Having been accorded that basic respect, they were willing to participate in developing a common view on holistic upliftment. This enabled us to create a policy framework - in the form of industry charters - that would guide the process of empowerment with the least disruption to a growing economy, investor confidence and the morale of the general population. It would also guarantee that empowerment would happen in the same way in all parts of the country. Outcomes could be predicted with a high degree of accuracy. We would be able, as a result, to measure progress and refine processes as and when necessary.
The second thing we got right was the involvement, commitment and leadership of capital - based on the growing realisation that companies have become a form of quasi democracy in which the views of the people within the company have a significant influence on the way it works and on what it does.
The existence of Masana Petroleum Solutions is proof of just how effective a combination of these two powerful forces - structured negotiation and the involvement of capital - can be.

An empowerment success story
Masana Petroleum Solutions was formed in early 2005 to take over - as a going concern - the commercial division of BP South Africa (BPSA), supplying energy and fuel management services and BP-branded fuels and associated products to, among others, the South African mining, manufacturing, industrial, transport, construction and public sectors. It is the first black-owned and managed company in South Africa to be formed from a significant sale by a global multinational. All BPSA's existing commercial customers, including BMW, SAB, Richards Bay Minerals, Richards Bay Coal Terminal and Phalaborwa Mining, signed up with Masana. The company therefore started its operations with 7% of South Africa's business-to-business petroleum market. BPSA's existing BEE partners, the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) and the Women's Development Bank (WDB), hold 35% of Masana's shares between them. Masana management and staff hold 15% and 5% of the shares respectively. BP retains a minority interest of 35%.
Through the creation of Masana, BP South Africa (BPSA) went beyond the minimum thresholds contained in the BBBEE policy, which is very much in line with BP's approach to 'noble' profits and corporate citizenship. BP's chairman, Lord Brown, articulated that approach more than five years ago when he said, “Companies aren't just concerned with short term profits. We want to make a good return for our shareholders year by year, quarter by quarter - but we want to continue that success beyond a single quarter or a single year. The profits we are making now are the result of years of investment and the money we're investing won't produce returns for several years to come”.
“Business is a continuing activity - not a once-off event, and that's the context in which we invest and reinvest in communities - because we want and intend to be part of their communities not just today but for years to come, and so we have a direct interest in their successful development”.
“That sort of reinvestment is important …but citizenship is about more than that. It is about commitment and engage¬ment in areas of real difficulty where society has problems and where the solutions are not readily apparent. To be an effective citizen you have to be part of a wider process, which in turn depends on the choices and actions of others”.
As such, instead of simply employing sufficient numbers of black South Africans within BPSA to satisfy charter affirmative targets, BPSA sold off (and thereby entrusted) a significant part of its local business to black owners and managers - and to shareholders who represent some of the most disadvantaged people in the country.

Taking empowerment down to grass roots
BPSA's empowerment initiative with Masana went far be¬yond creating a single business entity. It capitalised on the inclusiveness inherent in the process of negotiating a policy framework for the sector - by extending it to the grassroots of society.
For instance, one of Masana's shareholders, the Mine¬workers Investment Company, runs programmes aimed at reskilling retrenched mine and construction workers, empowering them to enter the mainstream economy in their own right. Another shareholder, the Women's Development Bank (WDB) empowers rural women through micro-lend¬ing and other forms of finance. The profits from Masana will therefore make a life-changing difference to more than 400 000 people who could otherwise never have benefited directly from the wealth of the oil and gas industry.
And, Masana continues the inclusiveness tradition. Like BP, we choose to be part of a wider process. Having been empowered ourselves, we believe we have a responsibility to empower others. One way of doing that is through procurement and development of other black-owned and managed businesses. I, for one, will not consider that I have been successful as CEO of Masana unless I can trace, in a tangible way, the contribution Masana has made to the national economy. And I won't rest until I have helped create the next major supplier in the oil industry.

Applicability to Africa
OK, you say, that's South Africa. But things are different here in my country. True, and - as we all know only too well - it is neither respectful nor realistic to try and impose on one culture, the lifestyle or beliefs of another. On the other hand, we as Africans have a great deal in common - and so we can more readily adopt and adapt lessons from one another than, say, from other continents.
All indigenous Africans have been disenfranchised at some point in history, and all of us have struggled to and, in some measure, succeeded in procuring a political vote. So, wherever we live, we share a history of disempowerment and struggle. And we continue to share in the battle to create socio-economic well-being for the people of this continent.
Our greatest asset in the new struggle is our common tradition of inclusiveness. Sure, it's been interrupted and subverted by those cultures that have colonised Africa. But we are still naturally inclined to Lord Brown's view of citizenship: “It means engagement in a pattern of relationships. It's about mutual advantage - a long term balance of interests in which all parties gain”.
South Africa's way of giving impetus to that spirit of inclusiveness included negotiated policy frameworks and acknowledgement of capital as a citizen working with other citizens. Because, to quote Lord Brown again, “the business of business is to help solve problems; to respond to need and to offer better choices”.
There's no reason why such a combined approach should not work in the rest of Africa.

For further information, contact:
Sizwe Mncwango
Tel: +27 11 544-6301
Fax: +27 11 544-6444
Email: sizwe.mncwango@masana.biz
Web: http://www.masana.biz