Progress on Draft PPPFA vs BEE Codes - Parliament in January
National Treasury has received 148 Comments so far on the proposed draft amendment to the PPPFA that was published in August 2009 for comment from the public and stakeholders. A first presentation on these comments will be made toParliament in early January 2010 , a senior source in National Treasury told Smart Procurement.
Posted by Editor at 12:00 AM
BBBEE: Generic Codes vs Sector Codes of good practice
The recent gazetting of the Toursim, Construction and Forestry Codes in terms of section 9(1) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, 53 of 2003, has already lead to some concerns as to the application of these codes and their status vis a vis the generic Codes of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“the Codes”) contained in Codes 000 to 800.
Posted by Editor at 2:05 PM
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
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
Andile Tlhoaéle elected as Chairperson of ABVA
The board of the Association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA), an independent national membership organisation established to lead the black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) verification industry, has the pleasure to announce Andile Tlhoaéle, as the new Chairperson of ABVA.
Posted by Editor at 10:25 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
What Procurement Professionals are to Expect from the BEE Verification Process
As the recognised industry body for the BEE Verification Industry, ABVA (the Association of BEE Verification Agencies) has provided companies with the following information in regards to what they can expect from their chosen Verification Agency (VA) during the verification process. The criteria and expectations as expressed here are part of the ABVA Member Code of Conduct that all ABVA members are required to adhere to.
Posted by Editor at 6:30 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
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
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
Supplier sustainability evaluation service launched
Organisations can better manage risks by limiting their exposure to unstable suppliers. The general principle being that insight into a supplier’s sustainability profile, will advance the procurement department’s ability to plan for and handle, disruptions in supply, inconsistencies in product quality, the sourcing of back up or new suppliers and a host of other related issues.
Posted by Bernie at 7:02 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
Supplier BEE Self Assessment - Will verification be done away with?
At the time of publication, the South African cabinet had (AT LAST!) approved the final revised form of the Codes of Good Practice on Black Economic Empowerment (the Codes). Whilst going through a number of incarnations, periods of public commentary and reviews, the final form still holds the potential to yield its fair share of surprises. This also holds true for the structuring and position of the verification industry, leading to at least one prominent financial publication incorrectly suggesting that formal verification may be totally done away with.
Posted by Bernie at 2:23 PM
Current procurement systems and practices will fail BEE verification requirements.
The South African economy in all its diversity, presents BEE Verification Agencies with a reality that differs substantially from the corporate standard envisioned by the authors of the BBBEE Codes of Good Practice. "This is not to say that Verification is critically affected, or that adherence to the codes becomes impossible, but rather that both Verification Agencies and clients should be aware of the challenges faced, responding to these as quickly and as accurately as possible," says Robert Thorburn of Exceed Verification.
Posted by Bernie at 1:28 PM
Is BEE fronting bad for business?
Fronting, as relating to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), still remains part and parcel of the challenges faced by procurement departments in all industries. Thinking on the issue is however, widely divergent. This article looks at what fronting is, why some businesses front, or do business with others that front and what the consequences may be.
Posted by Bernie at 2:57 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