B-BBEE codes: broader approach needed
Comments made by Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, at the South African Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Summit in Johannesburg today reveal that government may have missed an opportunity for bold changes to the B-BBEE Codes to make it a really broad based tool for promoting economic inclusion.
While we welcome government's efforts to combat empowerment fronting practices and incorporating changes to the Codes that make it easier for small business to comply, we believe more should be done to incentivise truly broad-based empowerment.
The DA has two main concerns with Minister Davies' comments today.
Firstly, the inclusion of minimum threshold requirements of 40% for ownership, skills development and enterprise and supplier development in the Empowerment Scorecard is worrying.
These requirements could discourage companies from embarking on planned empowerment initiatives in the first place if they are unable to reach the minimum thresholds immediately.
We are also taken aback by Minister Davies' announcement that the Codes will be published in the Government Gazette next Friday for implementation without any further public consultation or Parliamentary input.
The B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice will determine whether or not the B-BBEE Bill will be successful in our objectives of creating broad-based opportunities for all South Africans who still suffer from the legacy of Apartheid.
The DA believes that every effort should be made to ensure that legislated and regulated government empowerment efforts are aimed at those still trapped in poverty as a result of historic imbalances. We cannot allow the same people to benefit time and again and enriching themselves in the name of empowerment.
We will study the details of the Codes of Good Practiced once they have been made available.
Statement issued by Dr Wilmot James MP, DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, October 3 2013
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