Almost like a fireside chat – except we don't get to hear words of wisdom being spoken, we can read them at our own leisure (however in the case of the AgriBEE charter – you only have 60 days in which to do so.)
Rob signed this in November 2011, but published last week. Denel's limited facilitator status is contained in the last paragraph.
The B-BBEE Facilitator Status granted to Denel (Pty) Ltd is designated and confined exclusively for dealings with Its associate companies namely Turbomeca Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cart Zeiss Optronics (Pty) Ltd, and Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd. And therefore all business dealings within the Denel Group including any other subsidiary, joint venture and associate company will fall outside the scope of this exemption.
On the AgriBEE charter – it would appear that not all the people that it intends to benefit are happy with it
Motsepe Matlala, a commercial farmer and owner of Mafata Farm near Ermelo in Mpumalanga, said the current AgriBEE charter would not attract investment to farming. BEE was a policy that needed an overhaul because black people should not strive to gain equity stakes in white peoples' businesses. Instead, black South Africans should use their resources to build a sustainable and profitable environment for self-sufficient black agribusinesses, explained Matlala. "Look at the recession, companies have gone bust. The current framework is a drawback… BEE as a whole needs a re-look. We need to come up with creative means and ways to build sustainable black businesses in the sector," he said.
I like what Matlala is saying here – this is not about 25% of a white business, it must be about generating new sustainable businesses. Also – he's not alone calling for a re-look at BEE, Matthews Phosa has also called for a radical reformation along very similar lines
South Africa needs to radically reform its black economic empowerment policies to stop black entrepreneurs from being "parasites" dependent on white businesses. So said ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa. "We need to create strong black businesses. We haven't done that," he said. "[We must] not do BEE on the basis of the value of the share price, which is what happened in the past 20 years. The bulk of BEE deals were based on the share price whether it was high or low.
I suppose the question here is whether the codes that have been mooted in that dubious presentation talk to this ideology.
And slightly on that subject, I got an email from a very prominent person (in BEE circles) informing me that neither THAT PERSON or another person were involved in the drafting of the codes (no genders or agendas here). My response to THAT PERSON was that THAT PERSON should be relieved that THAT PERSON was not involved in the drafting because THAT PERSON's legacy would always be tarnished by the promulgation of such a document. My sources do however contradict THAT PERSON's refutation.
FSC
A lot more needs to be written about the FSC – and I will do so later this week. Thena Wage (sic) ran a little article on the FSC this morning. When reading the FSC we must view it as a major victory in the whole BEE space – the 25% direct ownership issue was always going to be a problem. In spite of these issues a compromise has been reached (albeit in draft format – although my sources in the financial industry are behaving as though this thing is already in effect).
Absip president Tryphosa Ramano welcomed the gazetting of the charter. "We know and understand the challenges, and Absip will be hosting roundtable discussions to enable our members to provide their input, which we will then consolidate and present to the minister," he said. "The proposal has gone a long way in transforming the sector, specifically when it comes to access to finance and fuelling the engine of the South African economy, especially the SMME sector."
Ramano said that, in order to grow and sustain the country's economy, all sectors of the population needed access to finance and that the charter would address these and other issues.
This is progress. Real progress.
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