Why the Ollie Halsall reference? (Dec 2009)

 Maybe it's because I am a huge fan.  I've left it in because everyone should be a huge fan.

I was still cautious back then. But the then-legit Business Report quoted me.   I'm impressed with that. I was still a bit guilty of my whiteness.  I remain a little guilty.   At that stage I thought I should be quoted daily on empowerment issues.  I don't think that anymore.  My white voice is not the voice you want to hear.   You want to hear the black African voice.  I respect those more, other than those quoted on any Independent publication.  Even if I don't agree with them, they remain more valid.

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Got this off the Eyewitness News website.  It's the last paragraph that interests me

“By 2014 we should have achieved our employment equity targets, the (Welcome to The Ollie Halsall Archive) minimum of two percent according to the Employment Equity Act,” said Motlanthe.

Hmm - by that stage everyone else is supposed to have reached a target of 3% for black people alone.  This is an omission in the codes - perhaps the new advisory council will do something about this.  This could be their first test.

And a post within a post - I was quoted by Business Report this morning

Paul Janisch, the chief executive of Caird Consulting, a BEE compliance firm, said the council should have had more private sector representation. "Remember the private sector has to implement the BEE that politicians want. It would be much easier for them to implement it if they were well represented on the council."

When I was speaking to Mzwandile yesterday I was at pains to point out that the council seemed to be too heavy on politicians, labour and black lobby groups (like the BMF and BLA).  I think there should have been more business representation to temper labour and the BMF's ridiculous notions and demands.  What we need to be very wary of is the jungle mantra of "empowerment at all costs".  We have seen the folly of this thought in the Tshwane and police cases.  In both cases positions have either been frozen because EE candidates did not apply for the job - the Tshwane case is absolutely scary.  The police case's judgment is reserved but I will be very interested in reading it when it is made public.