In its capacity as the regulator on broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE), the BBBEE Commission has seen the relevant legislation enjoy several successes since its promulgation in 2003; however, there are still challenges related to how it is implemented.

This was noted during the BBBEE Commission’s yearly conference on April 1, under the theme “Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, Quo Vadis?”.

A common theme highlighted by speakers was that the necessary task of transforming the economy required a collaborative effort and, while the BBBEE legislation provided a good tool to achieve this, more buy-in was required from all stakeholders, and proper implementation must be undertaken.

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel emphasised that the manner in which BBBEE was implemented should always be such that it promoted investment, rather than limiting it.

Research and consulting firm Intellidex executive chairperson Dr Stuart Theobald noted that what needed to be considered now was how BBBEE fitted into solving the twin challenges of youth unemployment and low growth that were affecting the country.

He stressed that the economy had to be transformed in such a way that it could absorb youth labour in large numbers.

Moreover, it has to confront the country’s growth history, with this having experienced several years of declining gross domestic product growth, which is not sustainable.

Theobald highlighted that BBBEE had been one of the most important regulatory frameworks for business in the country as a whole, with it having a considerable impact on the way business is done across the country.

Therefore, he said, it must now consider how it could be applied to solving these challenges. 

An important area of focus for corporates was mentioned as skills and enterprise development, with a need to scale up and ensure that workers and youth were developed for the necessary skillsets of the future.

Moreover, while this is being done to some extent, this does not always result in better opportunities, with those that are trained not given the opportunity to rise to board rank and higher management levels.

Management consulting firm Redflank Solutions director Lings Naidoo said research conducted by the company showed that the commission was perceived as doing relatively well in terms of what it tried to achieve in terms of immediate outputs.

However, when it comes to the commission’s ultimate outcomes, there was a mixed response.

He said a key reason for this was that achieving the ultimate outcomes of economic transformation was a collaborative undertaking, and therefore, one that the commission was unable to achieve alone.

Therefore, he said that, for the commission to have its intended impact, and for the country to realise transformation benefits, required a collaborative effort, with all stakeholders operating out of the mould they are used to.

He pointed out that the legislation provided guidance and some incentive to do the right thing in terms of establishing transformation.

However, there also needed to be cognisance of the current environment, he noted. He explained, for example, that the economy was badly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and while large corporates and industries such as agriculture were recovering well, smaller players required more attention.

Moreover, he said the commission needed to be better capacitated to achieve its aims.

Other concerns that came up during the conference were that some corporates see BBBEE as a “box-ticking” exercise, and therefore, the way that they implement this results in the benefits not being realised by those legislation aims to benefit.

Sectors that were seeing positive developments in terms of economic empowerment were highlighted as transport and construction. By contrast, those that are lagging were the financial, property and tourism sectors.

AWARDS

To recognise entities that have added value in the transformation push, using BBBEE as an anchoring tool, the conference ended with an awards ceremony, which is intended to encourage voluntary compliance and recognise individuals and entities that make it a priority to promote, implement and advocate for BBBEE.

Awards given included the BBBEE Acquiescent Award, which was awarded to Weba SA. This category recognised the entity that had adhered to the advice of the BBBEE Commission and corrected conduct that appeared contrary to the BBBEE Act.

The BBBEE Diligentia Award was awarded to Eskom, Sanral, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and the Manufacturing and Engineering Seta. This category recognised government entities for the continued effort in conducting due diligence during their procurement processes to ensure BBBEE compliance.