The question of whether Nafcoc (National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry) has been able to rise to the challenges of post-apartheid South Africa is bound to spark emotional debate.

The question of whether Nafcoc (National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry) has been able to rise to the challenges of post-apartheid South Africa is bound to spark emotional debate.

This is because it is difficult to overcome the feeling that Nafcoc should be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and frog-marched in the direction of the economic challenges that confront this country.

By saying this, we're not even remotely suggesting that outgoing Nafcoc president Patrice Motsepe's tenure was not productive.

His track record in business speaks for itself.

But he was hampered at Nafcoc by having too much on his business platter.

To say he pirouetted through the back fire-exit when he decided to step down as Nafcoc president would perhaps be unkind.

But, rightly or wrongly, we detect undue haste in the manner in which he quit the leadership of the organisation, which still needs his visionary leadership.

This is no reflection on the capacity of his successor, Buhle Mthethwa, to carry the baton onwards.

That said, Nafcoc members face two choices: remain the perennial keepers of corner cafes or be counted among the black trailblazers of the mainstream economy.