The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has come under some very severe criticism this week. It's harshest critic has been the Business Day, who for some or other reason insists in naming it "the trade and industry department". For those who aren't aware, the dti is THE driving force in the BEE world. The BBBEE Act requires the minister to draft and gazette the generic codes of good practice.
What then has the dti done, or not done.
- The National Lottery. My oh my, this is one big bloody shambles. It was clear a few months ago that the losing bidders weren't going to take this lying down. Perhaps the minister thought that it would be sorted out in time. Well it wasn't - and there is now no lottery. The minister did release a statement explaining what happened, but he was a bit short on responsibility. I'd be interested to know how this has impacted on the business of those retailers who sell lottery tickets. It makes sense that having a lotto machine has an impact on people making additional casual purchases.
- Chinese imports. This is what the Business Day had to say about this issue. Last year the dti decided to impose quotas on Chinese clothing and textile imports. It was immediately clear that these would do more harm than good, and government was told this. But it forged ahead, threatening dire consequences for those that dared resist. Now Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa has been forced to backtrack and ease some of the quotas because they were hurting the very manufacturers his department was trying to protect.
Now because this is a professional blog it is prudent to mention that there have been a few letters to the Business Day defending this move, and they did not come from the dti. - The codes of good practice. I have been informed that the department handling BEE is in fact only made up of very few of people. This must play a role in the gazetting of these particularly unspectacular codes. They are full of mistakes, lacking in logic and other embarrassments. It seems odd that the dti would allow such a document to make gazetting.
This is the reason why the Business Day has called for the Department of Trade and Industry to be scrapped.
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