Mbeki wants BEE Scrapped – EconoBEE Newsletter 25 June 2009
Empower your Business
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Rebuttal - Moeletsi Mbeki wants BEE ScrappedI am most concerned about the reports that Moeletsi Mbeki wants BEE scrapped. The concern is not his opinion but that his comments show a complete lack of understanding of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE). His comments perpetuate the myth that white people must give their businesses to black people, that black people do not have to work for their living, that BEE encourages corruption, cronyism etc etc etc. While some of these ills may occur, it is wrong to blame B-BBEE for this. In an interview with Reuters (af.reuters.com) he theatrically states that if he was elected president the first thing he would do is to scrap BEE. He conveniently forgets that B-BEE is one of many hundreds of government acts and regulations governing economic and social policy. Policies that regulate exchange control, money supply, policies requiring people and businesses to pay taxes, regulations around the environment, labour force, health, education. There are regulations that explain how tenders must be adjudicated and what monetary policies the reserve bank should follow. There are issues around how to finance and manage HIV/AIDS research and treatment. Somehow he regards the B-BBEE act as the "worst" act in the entire country and in need of the first and greatest remedial action of a new president. Mbeki seems to think that B-BBEE is only about making certain black people wealthy. The interview states: "As part of a push to right the wrongs of apartheid and give blacks a stake of the economy, South Africa requires firms to meet quotas on black ownership, employment and procurement." This is so wrong. The B-BBEE act and the Codes of Good Practice do NOT require firms to meet quotas on black ownership, employment and procurement. He lays out his visions for empowerment as follows: "Mbeki argues that unless South Africa axes the policy in favour of a broader skills development drive, South Africa's underclass, crammed into vast settlements of rickety shacks with no water or electricity, will balloon and eventually turn on the elite." He is correct in wanting to remedy these aspects, and why I personally support B-BBEE. This is EXACTLY what B-BBEE is all about. It is not about making the odd person a millionaire. The codes do not REQUIRE firms to meet any quotas. The codes specifically emphasize skills development, socio-economic development and enterprise development to help those people currently living in those shacks. What Dr Mbeki and far too many people do not realize is that the B-BBEE act is not a punitive act. A private enterprise that neglects to implement B-BBEE will not be prosecuted. There is no legal penalty for not obtaining a scorecard. It is therefore incorrect for Dr Mbeki to describe B-BBEE as "REQUIRing firms to meet quotas". The only measurement of B-BBEE is via a... New Version Of EconoBEE Scorecard Software LaunchedEconoBEE has released version 3 of its popular BEE scorecard software tool. EconoBEE V3 boasts a number of improvements and features over the previous version:
Keith Levenstein, CEO of EconoBEE explained that becoming BEE compliant is a way of life in South African business. A BEE score equals business, but a good BEE score equals a lot more business. The only way to get a good BEE score is to understand BEE issues and to take various actions that will earn points. EconoBEE V3 helps with those calculations, but also helps businesses understand the codes so that they make the best decisions to maximize those points.
"Many people believe that they cannot become BEE compliant unless they sell shares in their business. This is not true. You can earn a high score by concentrating on the seven elements of BEE- ownership, management, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement, enterprise development and socio-economic development." comments Levenstein It is far easier to earn a high score than many people realise. Scores depend on the size of the business - if a business has an annual turnover of between R5 and R35 million then it only needs to earn points on 4 of the 7 elements. Many of these businesses could achieve a good score of level 2 which will help them tremendously in doing business with large corporations. All that is really necessary is to do the calculations and take some decisions in the business. EconoBEE V3 does most of the work for you. Tourism and Hospitality in Black and WhitePresented by Routledge Modise in association with Eversheds in conjunction with EconoBEE.
Date: 7 July 2009
Finding the competitive edgeGiven the priority of staying as competitive as possible, companies need to exploit all existing opportunity channels. This requires a knowledge and understanding of possible environmental impacts on your business. In the South African business environment, BEE compliance plays a significant role particularly to those companies dealing at a business-to-business level. Your clients will require you to produce evidence of your BEE compliance status, without which they will opt to do business with your rival. How do you address this problem? One of the largest sources of competitiveness is a customer-needs driven approach. Identifying and satisfying your clients’ needs provides the necessary competitive edge. Therefore, getting the proper BEE documents is not a choice for those companies with such clients who require such evidence. In such a scenario, a company’s competitiveness is based to an extent on its BEE score. Therefore, how competitive is your business without evidence of its BEE status, in a market where such evidence is held with high regard?
RememberBEE Points = BusinessThat's it for the time being. Keith and the EconoBEE Team |
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About EconoBEEEconoBEE is a BEE consultancy who has developed extremely effective tools to measure and implement Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment. Our services focus on the business side of BEE. Our services include EconoBEE Scorecard, BEE Scorecard Workshops, EME Pack, Document Pack, EconoLog and the 10 Step Process to BEE Compliance. Our company supports various organisations and drives the BEE Expert Group to help maintain and develop knowledge in the BEE industry. Look out for our next newsletter
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