EMPOWERMENT
KHAYA SITHOLE: Sasol and Anglo pass different wayposts
Contrasting milestones offer insights into empowerment successes and failures at two South African giants
Anglo American and Sasol reached contrasting milestones recently. Sasol announced a new BEE deal to replace the Inzalo scheme, which has not yielded the desired results. Anglo, for so long the bulwark of SA’s economy, turned 100. No entity has been as intrinsically linked to the South African story as Anglo American. In its heyday, the "corporation" directly influenced every aspect of society. As a direct owner of companies that controlled more than half of the JSE shares at one point, its economic dominance was as enviable as it was tumultuous. To traditional capitalists, it represented a wonderful example of capitalism’s ability to generate wealth. To others, its position as a giant in a mining industry built on the back of cheap labour made it a symbol of exploitation. Its monopolistic nature at the heart of the mining industry meant it had frontline experience of the rise of trade unionism and industrial action against the backdrop of social oppression.It was perhaps in its poli...
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