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Bheki Sibiya heads up the Chamber of MinesWhen Bhekokuhle (Bheki) Sibiya took over the reins at the Chamber of Mines, he was inheriting an industry with a turbulent past and a stormy present. Although he had little experience in this area when he first started, he has been described in the mining media as an effective operator in the politics of business, and is unafraid of speaking his mind.
At the age of 54, he currently holds at least 13 directorships and has been a board member in a variety of industries. He has worked for blue-chip companies such as the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA), South African Breweries (SAB) and Transnet. He is a former president of the Black Management Forum and a founding chief executive officer of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA). He has served on a number of national policy structures including the National Anti-Corruption Forum, the President’s Working Group on Business, and the African Peer Review Mechanism council.
Sibiya grew up in Eshowe in rural KwaZulu-Natal. He recalls that life was not easy: “It was tough, in that rural schools do not have the facilities of urban schools. It was tough, in that my father was a hard worker; he was the kind of person who considered play (to be) a waste of time, and most of my spare time was spent helping my father with his business.
“One of my core principles is hard work, and this is due to my father’s influence.”
After getting his Matric, his father helped him pay his way at the University of Zululand until he earned a merit bursary from Barloworld and went on to complete a BA degree in Business Administration.
Sibiya is very family-orientated. He is married to Tembisa, with whom he has five children. His father, a polygamist, had two wives; and Sibiya has 12 siblings and an extended family currently at least 30 strong.
Despite his hectic professional schedule, he returns to his roots almost every fortnight.
“My mother, who is 82, still lives there (in Eshowe) and every moment I can spend with her is time to treasure. I am truly my mother’s boy. I don’t want to regret anything when she is gone,” he says.
Sibiya’s first job was at the FMCSA. After 18 months, the company granted him a fellowship to study for an MBA at Western Michigan University in the United States. “The time I spent there was one of the turning points in my life,” he says. “In my 20s, I was exposed to international life and interfaced with people of the highest calibre.
“I received a good education, but one of the greatest benefits was what I learnt about life.”
While in the US, he fell in love with a woman of Malaysian Muslim descent, whom he married. When they relocated to South Africa, they lived in a township. But the cultural gap proved too difficult to bridge. “She couldn’t fit in and finally left,” recalls Sibiya. “I remarried seven years later and have spent 20 years with Tembisa.”
Over the decades, he has accumulated wide and diverse experience in many industries.
Has he found that there are commonalities in leadership regardless of where one operates? “My management style developed during the eight glorious years I spent at SAB and were cemented during my tenure at Tongaat-Hulett Sugar,” says Sibiya.
“One needs to use as many of one’s senses as possible: A good leader listens. One has two ears and one mouth, and one should use them proportionately. Observe events, patterns and trends closely. A good command of language is essential to articulate visions and values.
“The common touch is important. When one deals with individuals on a personal level, you get so many good results. Acknowledge that we as humans are fragile,” he continues.
“Be humble: one can’t know, do or say it all. There is no ‘I’ in the word ‘team’. Together, everybody achieves much more.”
This thinking seems to underpin Sibiya’s motivation for the role he played in the foundation of BUSA, a powerful lobby group.
“We were influenced by the politics of our founding fathers and mothers,” he explains. “We knew that black and white business would be stronger together, than standing alone. Together, we could start developing the new South Africa.
“It was about black business organisations bringing political legitimacy; and white business bringing resources, money and business experience.
“Together, when we engage with government, we have political legitimacy, business acumen and the ability to contribute to the betterment of South Africa,” Sibiya adds.
Would he dip his toes into the waters of politics? “No, I would not. There is no limit to the number of people who want to play that role. One needs to choose one’s area of strength and play to that strength. For me, that is business.
“I have deep respect for many in political leadership, even though the actions of some leave much to be desired. But I have not walked in their moccasins and don’t really understand where the shoe pinches,” he says.
Nevertheless, Sibiya strongly believes respect does not exclude being straightforward: “I don’t struggle when it comes to speaking my truth unto power. Honesty is one of the best signs of respect. If I want to share my real thoughts (even though they may be wrong), I must speak truthfully.”
So he says exactly what is on his mind when asked his thoughts on the state of the nation: “It is extremely sad. There is a lack of leadership in many areas. South Africa is not rich, but it’s not poor, either. Our state resources are being plundered. Look at the growth of our economy and the levels of unemployment and poverty. The extent to which we still battle these conditions is very unfortunate.
“Our priorities are wrong. High-school children choose to be active in the ANC rather than study. They believe a Matric won’t get them a job but, in politics, they will get tenders; get rich. When education is subordinated to political activity, there is something wrong with our system.
“We have yielded to greed. When the minister of Public Works says tens of billions of rands have been lost through corruption, and the National Planning Commission says 20 to 23 billion rands have also disappeared, how can the state of the nation be good?” Sibiya asks.
“I have no problem with people aspiring to be wealthy; but when they become filthy rich through corruption, then we have allowed greed to become the dominant driver in the national psyche – which is regrettable.”
This, he believes, is the thinking behind many who seek to nationalise the mining industry: “A lot of corrupt people are looking at empty cookie jars, and nationalisation of our assets is just another cookie jar to plunder. Opportunistic people are fishing in the troubled waters of our crisis of poverty, unemployment and inequity. But this is a national crisis, not a mining crisis.”
The ANC Youth League has labelled Sibiya a “pawn of white capitalists”, saying that the Chamber of Mines is “fronted by individuals who know nothing about the history of repression, segregation and brutal enslavement of our people in the mines.”
His response is, “No one has given me any logical link between nationalisation and dealing with poverty. The nationalisation of minerals has never had any outstanding results anywhere in the world.
“The Chamber of Mines supports the idea of state-owned mining companies, but opposes nationalisation.”
Sibiya states that the industry is by no means blameless, and there is no doubt that it has a chequered history and that it has left an unfortunate legacy.
“There were a number of human rights abuses driven by the mining community: dislocation of communities to give way to mining; social dislocation where miners were separated from their families; poisoned water caused by acid mine drainage,” he notes. “The government and industry need to deal with this legacy.”
Sibiya affirms that mining companies have much to do in the areas of safety, health, environment and lifestyle of its workers. He believes that the industry’s social and labour plans could be better co-ordinated between mining, the government, unions and communities.
Furthermore, it needs to send a clear message to shareholders: “Tone down your profit expectations from South Africa, as we have a long and sad history to deal with. On the other hand, South Africa is known to be the most mineral-rich country in the world – and what we have, the world needs.”
Sibiya warns, however, against penalising current mining operations for past transgressions out of their control: “I believe that the royalty tax from mining can be put to far better use rather than allowing it to disappear in the general fiscus. Firstly, let’s use it to make the communities surrounding mines better; improve the environmental aspects of mining and the conditions of those communities who send labour to the mines.”
“Generally speaking, a lot of mining houses are prepared to do more, so long as it does not disappear into the leaking bucket of corruption and government bureaucracy,” he asserts.
The ANC has appointed a task team to investigate the merits of nationalisation. It approached the Chamber of Mines to help with financing. But is there not a danger that the Chamber’s support will undermine the independence of the research?
“We said we would only contribute if the process is transparent,” states Sibiya.
He concedes that some will seek to discredit it. “If the research is factually sound and not opinion-based, its credibility will stand the test of time – otherwise it will fail.”
In respect of transformation, Sibiya maintains that the mining industry has one of the best records in the country when it comes to moving toward its empowerment targets.
He is passionate about the critical role education plays in the growth of our nation. “The primary contributor to what I am today and what differentiates me from the hobo on the street, is education,” he says.
“If we are serious about turning the economy around, we need to focus on solid, general and tertiary education. We also need to do significant talent and skills development to become more competitive. The mining industry is accused of not doing enough in terms of beneficiation of its products and, therefore, job creation. But one of the key inhibitors is the shortage of skills and talent.”
Sibiya confirms that his role at the Chamber of Mines will be his swan song before he ‘retires’ in six years’ time. He plans to continue with some of his non-executive roles, and share his wisdom through lecturing and executive coaching of young, promising individuals.
In addition, he wants to establish a full-time self-supporting spiritual ministry: “I’d like to become a pastor. My wife and I would like to travel the world because, by then, we will have deserved it!”
Michele Alexander
