"Box ticking" affirmative procurement does more harm than good
Over the last 15 years or so, the Government has tried various means to spread South Africa’s wealth more equitably among its people. Good progress appears to have been made, however, there is a growing move towards a complex political box-ticking ‘compliance’ approach to affirmative procurement and associated policies which may, in the long run, do more harm than good, says Dr. Douglas Boateng, SmartProcurement editorial board member and CEO of niche business advisory organisation PanAvest International.
Posted by Editor at 9:45 AM
Black-owned firms penalised for using white talent
The chairperson of South Africa’s largest wholly owned black auditing firm has expressed concern over BEE codes which penalise black-owned firms who expand their skills base with white talent.
Posted by Editor at 12:00 AM
Equity equivalents counter low BEE procurement scores
Most foreign-owned companies operating in South Africa are not going to sell shares locally and consequently have a lower B-BBEE scoring. Therefore, if they are your vendors then your Preferential Procurement scoring is negatively influenced. However, the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) codes of good practice make provision for Equity Equivalents, Benni North of the BEESA Group, tells SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 12:00 AM
Implementation of BEE hampered by bad information
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Insufficient information is one of the biggest hurdles to the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies and legislation in the workplace, which perpetuates negative attitudes towards BEE, distorts the BEE process, and also devalues those legitimate BEE business owners in the marketplace, Alex Soare of BEESA BoxSmart told SmartProcurement
Posted by StaffWriter at 11:09 AM
Has there been an effective change in the public sector tender regimes since 2003?
In 2003 Business Day reported on the Black Business Media Summit. At this summit, Shadrach Appanna, then an Economist from the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), spoke on the topic of ‘Preparing black businesses to excel in Public Private Partnerships' (PPPs).
Posted by StaffWriter at 1:11 PM
A minefield of misinformation - Tackling the challenges of BEE perception
It’s been two years since the introduction of BBBEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment) and yet there is still a critical need for information about this phenomenon. This lack of information perpetuates misconceptions around BEE – rather than empowering employers with the right framework for implementation, the limited knowledge available creates an emotional environment that is counter-productive to the precepts of BEE.
Posted by Editor at 10:56 AM
Finally, first BEE verification agencies accredited
The Association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA) has welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mandisi Mpahlwa, in terms of verification agencies that have completed the accreditation process conducted by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Posted by Editor at 8:15 AM
The impact of the financial crisis on SA, and why BEE is now more important than ever
When the current global financial crisis peaked in 2008, the South African economy was held together by its strong foundation which benefitted from several past regulations that minimised investment flows out of the economy.
Posted by Editor at 7:00 AM
Implementation of BEE hampered by bad information
Insufficient information is one of the biggest hurdles to the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies and legislation in the workplace, which perpetuates negative attitudes towards BEE, distorts the BEE process, and also devalues those legitimate BEE business owners in the marketplace, Alex Soare of BEESA BoxSmart told SmartProcurement
Posted by StaffWriter at 2:01 PM
SMME Development as a driver of BEE Procurement opportunities and the economy as a whole
"Governments, policy makers, even the World Bank, all agree that small businesses are the growth engine in any economy. Looking at other countries as an example, 95% of organisations in Australia are from the Small Micro Medium Enterprises sector (SMME), whilst Germany’s economic growth was also led by SMMEs. The same applies to South Africa where we have an estimated 2.8 million SMMEs in the country at present, who drive economic growth and development”, Alexander Soare, Managing Director of BEESA Boxsmart, told SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 11:00 AM
2008 Annual BEE Conference: BEE Procurement decreases by 20%
BEESA Consulting and EES-Siyakha hosted their second annual Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Conference on the 11th, 12th and 13th of November 2008 at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Johannesburg. More than 80 delegates from both the private and public sectors attended the event in order to get to grips with the rapidly shifting South African empowerment landscape. And the message was clear: Transformation is a process, not an event.
Posted by Editor at 8:10 AM
Chinese South Africans now Black - What impact will this have on your BBBEE Score?
Time to recalculate your scorecard! In a landmark decision, the Pretoria High Court has ruled that South Africans of Chinese descent qualify for the full benefits of the country's Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Employment Equity (EE) legislation. The Pretoria High Court found in favour of an application by the Chinese Association of South Africa (CASA) who has been struggling since 2000 to get the Chinese business community to benefit from affirmative action and empowerment programmes.
Posted by Editor at 8:30 AM
Taking BEE Procurement To The Next Level : Verified BEE Supplier Database
South Africa's second piece of equity legislation passed in 2004, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, lacks government enforced sanction, yet many public and private sector companies have embraced this vital initiative. This acceptance suggests that South Africa's social policies have finally reached a turning-point. Posted by StaffWriter at 2:40 PM
Enterprise Development unlocks Preferential Procurement value
E
nterprise Development, along with Socio-Economic Development and Skills Development, should be a fundamental cornerstone of any well-structured South African BEE Procurement strategy. Andrew Bizzell, co-founder of the Institute for Enterprise Development and a BEESA consultant, told Smart Procurement how procurement organisations can make Enterprise Development (as a BEE strategy) work for them...Posted by StaffWriter at 11:31 AM
BBBEE Compliance vs Government Procurement Practices - a Contradiction in terms?
"No government department has ever asked for a Broad Based BEE certificate, and it may be some time before they do" Wade van Rooyen of Iquad Verification Services tells SmartProcurement. . The answer to the question of why government has not asked for certificates is based on conflicting legislation which may have a serious impact on your business.
Posted by StaffWriter at 10:25 AM
BEE Verification certificates vs Self Assessments... which is valid? What are the risks?
"In an environment where no verification agency has been accredited by government,
which verification agencies certificates are valid? When are self assessments applicable?
What are the risks to investing resources into an unaccredited process,
and what are the risks of doing nothing until accreditation is issued?
Posted by StaffWriter at 8:55 AM
7 Tips for achieving BBBEE compliance quickly
Obtaining BBBEE procurement recognition for your organisation is usually not a simple exercise. The task can be daunting even for the most pro-active procurement officers.Posted by StaffWriter at 10:15 AM
Seamless reporting on your monthly/ quarterly/ annual BBBEE spend now available
It's Friday noon hour and you're about to leave for a supplier meeting when the CPO buzzes and says that the FD just flew in from HQ and urgently ( for their impromptu Board Meeting at 14h00) requires your Commodity Report on your total BEE Spend:
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:27 AM
Detailed 60 000 BEE SUPPLIER and verification information available electronically
In the recent past Supplier Directory’s matched the procurement departments enquiry with the required goods or services and ranked the supplier(s) according to region, reputation and such like criteria. The BBBEE Codes of Good Practice, as issued by the Department of Trade and Industry and, gazetted in February this year, changed all that. Detailed Supplier information is now an essential component of the procurement departments ability to fulfil its internal and, external transformation objectives and strategies.
Posted by StaffWriter at 8:16 AM
Updated: Generous BEE compliancy allowances for Small Business
With the release of the final BEE Codes of Good practice=, the government has listened to small and medium business concerns about their difficulty in becoming compliantJohan Giliomee of NERA tells Smart Procurement. "Their biggest complaint has been that they do not always have the resources and money to become compliant and that a change in ownership and management will seriously affect their business.
Posted by Bernie at 10:42 AM
Outsourced BEE compliance services pinpoint supplier development requirements for increased Procurement Score.
“With the Codes of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (the Codes) approved and about to be gazetted, the BEE verification industry is moving towards much stricter regulation. Already there has been a substantial reduction in the number of businesses offering verification services now published in the Association of BEE Verification Agencies’ website (www.abva.co.za).”
Posted by Bernie at 11:40 AM
BEE Codes approved by cabinet - small suppliers excluded.
Cabinet has approved the codes of good practice on broad based black economic empowerment and they are expected to be gazetted early next year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry's deputy director general Lionel October.
Posted by Bernie at 11:54 AM
BEE procurement compliance "Bureau" service launched
Does your company buy from non-BEE suppliers when a BEE supplier could have been used? Cape Town based CCI-Growthcon have developed an innovative approach to ensure maximum utilisation of BEE suppliers based on their description based spend analysis software - available monthly on a bureau basis.
Posted by Bernie at 9:18 AM
New BEE "pop-up " tool launched
Local e-Procurement platform provider MWEB CommerceZone has launched an innovatove solution that makes the arduous task of implementing and driving preferential procurement easier and faster.
Posted by Bernie at 12:28 PM
Measuring suppliers on ownership can result in no verified BEE points at all!
Increasingly companies, even those that have not had their BEE positions verified, are instituting systems to track their BEE procurement spend. The reasons for this being pretty obvious, procurement accounts for 20 points (out of 100) of a company’s BEE score. There is however a disconnect between the data procurement departments are preparing and what will be required by verification agencies.
Posted by Bernie at 7:30 AM
New Broad Based Empowerment vs Cost Savings - walking a tightrope?
All too often BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) is dealt with in one of two extremes, that is to say all or nothing. On the ‘all’ side some procurement departments only consider suppliers who present a specific empowerment score, usually with substantial black ownership. This narrow based approach is clearly out of touch with B-BBEE and runs the risk of favouring suppliers who compete only on their empowerment credentials, while pricing and quality may suffer.
Posted by Bernie at 2:22 PM
Reducing the Total Cost of Affirmative Procurement
The unfortunate and sometimes "uncomfortable" truth is that the total life costs associated with engaging historically disadvantaged suppliers are often unexpectedly higher than engaging in business as usual. With existing and looming charter obligations, preferential procurement has become a strategic imperative and firms need to focus on reducing these costs.
Posted by Bernie at 6:00 PM
Preferential Procurement: Destroying or enhancing procurement value….?
Whether it’s Green (Environmental) Procurement, developing historically disadvantaged individuals (HDI / BEE) or other forms of socially responsible procurement… powerful market forces guided by special interests play an increasing, and major role in defining procurement success. Will these issues destroy value created by strategic sourcing initiatives or will it raise the profile of the procurement organisation to the next level?
Posted by Bernie at 4:19 PM