The Black Business Council (BBC) and Business Unity South Africa (Busa) on Wednesday said they were equally concerned about the precarious state of the economy.

The organisations said they would seek to work in a more aligned manner when engaging the government on the best way to navigate South Africa out of its current challenges.

This comes after the two organisations held an eight-a-side exploratory meeting last week at which they discussed issues critical to business.

BBC president Sandile Zungu and Busa president Sipho Pityana last week decided to bury the hatchet following two face-to-face meetings after widely publicised differences. 

On the eve of the Black Business Summit last month, Pityana wrote a scathing open letter to Zungu accusing him of being complicit in state capture. But Zungu did not take the criticism lying down, replying almost immediately and saying that Pityana was "divisive and toxic".

The two organisations have now agreed on the need for a common platform for a business voice and have thus appointed a committee, four from each organisation, to explore the modalities of how that can be achieved.

Both organisations said they were equally concerned about the slow progress in transforming the economy to realise the meaningful participation of black people and small businesses.

In a joint statement, both organisations said they were in agreement that transformation was a critical enabler of economic growth.

There was also common recognition of the negative impact of corruption and state capture on the economy and the functioning of the state. The BBC and Busa were worried that this may have eroded public trust in business and the government.  

"Both organisations are committed to rebuilding public trust by encouraging ethical conduct and leadership in business and society in general," the statement read.

"The organisations will be taking the issues raised at the meeting back to their membership with a view to obtaining input and a mandate thereon, including crafting a way forward."