Paul Janisch

Impumelelo: SA’s Top Empowered Companies

The new edition of  Impumelelo: SA’s Top Empowered Companies has just come out.  I approached the editor a while ago and asked them if I could write the BEE section in the next publication.  Colin Bower, the editor has done a fantastic job in making the whole section flow.  I enjoyed writing it, I was learning about the gazetted codes as I went along.  I also got some very valuable contributions from Obed and Rienzo.

The publication is now out - I've seen a few at the CNA.  If you do go out and get a copy make sure that it is the 2007 edition, that's the latest one.  I'm really proud of this article, writing wasn't difficult at all.  I actually drew most of the material from this blog.

EEt's not enough

If I can't use puns then it's not worth my while.  So I continue.

The news was full of the latest EE Commission report.  It was on TV, SAFM and made the print media as well.  I read the report in Business Day this morning (Employment equity hits ‘all-time low’). 

I think Jimmy Manyi (Commission for Employment Equity chairman) is treading a very fine line with his rather inflammatory rhetoric.  He is quoted in the Business Day as attributing the “serious over-representation of white women as indicative of the racist preferences of the white male gatekeepers of employment."  Even Labour Minister Mdladlana had to try and temper this little gust of wind.

Come on Jimmy - the reasons have to go much further beyond your inflammatory ruminations.  Logic suggests that things like skills, availability of people and the cost of hiring them must also play a role in these stats.

So where to now?  It would seem as though they are going to police the top 100 companies to get serious progress in compliance.  And that's all they can do, the EE Act is a "procedural act", in other words if you don't follow the procedures prescribed in sections 16 and 19-23 then you will be fined.  The act cannot punish you for not meeting your targets.  I have my absolute doubts whether the top 100 companies don't follow the letter of the law.   I've attached a list of the punitive sections of the act.   You can check to see whether you are breaking the law. 

Begs the question - is EE failing?  I would suggest it is.

Fearing an omitted C

This post refers to what the dti has termed "SCARE" skills.  If you don't believe me, take a look at page 91 of the codes, under priority skills.   Louise was right when she said there are at least 172 different mistakes in the codes.  "Louise, I think we should make that 173, but who's counting."

Now onto something a little more serious.  The requirements for skills development are somewhat onerous.  Code 400 clearly states that entities may only receive points if they:

1. are in compliance with both the Skills Development and Skills Development Levies Acts.
2. have registered with the applicable SETA
3. have implemented programmes targeted at developing priority skills  generally, and specifically for black people
4. have developed a workplace skills plan  (notice the word "developed" , it doesn't expressly say "submitted")

The easiest way to earn the points for skills development is to actually spend money on the requisite training.  I was debating this concept with Todd Kaplan, an old Rhodes friend.  Todd runs an online training company called Wildlife Campus.  The virtual campus has in the region of 5000 students who are happy to take wildlife courses online, many of them do not reside in South Africa.  Todd has modified this concept to corporate learning and can provide almost any course in an online environment.   

The beauty of this type of learning is that the student can take the course at their desktop and operate at their own pace.

Todd got really excited when I told him about the skills development element.  I waxed on about how some companies might find that all their black staff on  courses and not in the workplace.  Todd has numerous success stories about online learning that he is more than willing to share with anyone.

I think it's a brilliant idea and we'll be working with Todd to take these courses to those companies that need them.

If you like the idea send me an email, and I'll set-up a meeting with Todd.

Fronting and equity equivalents

If you read the published codes you might have noticed that the fronting code, or more correctly "statement" (002) was missing.  This is no longer the case.  I was having a little browse on the BEE section of the dti's website and lo and behold.  They snuck in two updates.

• Equity Equivalent Programme for Multinationals, and
• Complex Structures & Transactions, and Fronting (Previously Statement 002)

If you haven't seen these yet, tell your friends.

By the way - Caird has an article in today's (9 May, 07) Star Workplace.  I was talking about weightloss and transformation.  I blogged about this before.