The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) on Wednesday refuted ongoing allegations regarding financial and governance irregularities, noting that it had taken legal action to have the statements retracted, as these “have no basis in fact”.
Last week, the Ekurhuleni Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB) resigned from the national chamber owing to these allegations, which Sacci president and Transnet Port Terminals GM Zeph Ndlovu on Wednesday brushed off as “no cause for alarm”.
In an interview with KwaZulu-Natal-based daily The Witness, PCB CEO Melanie Veness last week said the decision was not taken lightly, as it was cognisant that a strong business voice was needed at a national level. However, she believed that advocacy at Sacci had “fallen by the wayside”.
“We tried every means possible to resolve the challenges at Sacci and to insist on accountability,” she said at the time, adding that the PCB could not remain a member of Sacci “under the current circumstances”, citing financial and reputational risks.
Last year, the Border-Kei Chamber of Business, an unnamed South African bank, shipping company Maersk and the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa disaffiliated from Sacci, with media reports citing that the chamber was being run by executives from State-owned companies and not in the interests of private enterprise in South Africa.