Paul Janisch

Botswana's Citizen Economic Empowerment policy published

Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy Government Paper NO. 1 of 2012 (CEE Policy0, albeit inadequate, is long overdue. Above the façade, it looks like the government is heeding the call by observers and opposition politicians that government has to come up with a strategy to empower citizens. Critics have argued that notwithstanding rapid economic growth and relative development, foreigners control the country’s economy and Batswana remain in the fringes. Big dams, stadia, roads, power stations and big buildings are constructed by foreign companies, mainly Chinese. Corporate chiefs and managers, according to some studies, are for the most part foreigners and there continues to be income disparities between Batswana and foreigners doing the same jobs. The policy paper doesn’t appear like a concrete thing which government will set into motion the steps in which to obtain meaningful citizen economic empowerment.

via www.gazettebw.com

Not to be confused with Zambia's Citizens' Economic Empowerment.  This is Botswana's - it's been around for quite a while but now it has a fluffy document to describe some of the issues and provide very lfew concrete solutions and measurements.  The policy paper can be downloaded here.

This BEE thing is catchy - Bots, Zam, Nam and of course Zimdiginisation (which is a complete joke). And to think that the SA government thinks it's failed - how could BEE be failing if all our neighbours are jumping on the same bandwagon?

 

Cabinet Approves B-BBEE Amendment Bill

Cabinet has approved the introduction of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Bill, 2012, to Parliament.

via allafrica.com

OK - so now we know. My sources tell me that the BEE Council is now debating on how to report on this in the financials. Rumours are the udge is on the specialist committee - what a thinktank.

ICT Charter is no good - so say the industry

CONFUSION has gripped the ICT (information and communications technology) industry as it mulls over the implications of the recently gazetted sector's code.

At a workshop for stakeholders hosted by the South African Communications Forum this week, discontent was expressed at the lack of a transition period.

But Jacob Maphutha, director for BEE at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said the sector's stakeholders were involved in drawing up the charter.

"Stakeholders knew that it was coming because they were involved. It's not a surprise, so why should there be a transition period?"

The charter has been nine years in the making and became binding for all ICT companies on June 7.

via www.bdlive.co.za

I'll tell you why - it's because it is a poorly drafted document. It shows very little application of the mind and has Dilly's pawprints all over it.

Come on DTI - make a plan here, we already know that you don't know what you are doing, but by offering a small concession we might just forgive you for some of what has gone on in the past.

Why we should be overjoyed that ABSA may lose some of its BEE shareholding

There's been a bit of press about this, mostly about the fact that Tokyo wants to sell out via Mvelaphanda Holdings' 40% interest in Batho Bonke. Batho Bonke owns about 4% of ABSA. This is a joyous thing, a mitzvah, a blessing, a wonderful occurrence and other superlatives. Besides raising cash for Tokyo's campaign to remove the useless showerhead (although everyone I have spoken to says that Tokyo might outdoos Zuma in the doos stakes) it will apparently give about 1.2 million people a little bit of cash. And this is what the empowerment thing is about.

But alas it will have an impact on ABSA's BEE score. I think the worst that will happen is that ABSA will lose about 3 points which will drop them to a level 4. ABSA is the first to lose some shareholding; at some stage all the big banks will drop their shareholding and are unlikely to do another deal – they'd be bloody stupid if they did. This will level everything and then when you take the FSC's once empowered principle into account, the ownership scores will remain consistent.

But this is so irrelevant – what matters is that ABSA has done something for a lot of people. ABSA should be singing from the rooftops about this, they'll be the first to do so. They should go on a feelgood marketing campaign showing the poor people who have benefited (I wouldn't mention Tokyo – we all know that that he doesn't need the cash). They should use this as a starting point to provide banking services to the beneficiaries, throw a little ED money into the programme to teach these people to start creating their own businesses, co-ops etc. But whatever they do they must ignore the narrow-minded HBR (Hola Bon Renaissance) Foundation. The Sowetan reports that

HBR wants the government to acquire the shares through any of the public-owned financial entities, including the Public Investment Commission, the Industrial Development Corporation and the National Empowerment Fund and "warehouse them until another BEE consortium interested in investing in the banking sector is identified".

Everyone should ignore the HBR – this narrow-minded perception of black ownership can never create wealth, it will only bankrupt an already corrupt government.

Well done in advance ABSA, Maria give me a call if you want me to help you with this long term ED and marketing campaign.

Mazwai is seduced by Blade's blunt statistics

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande told a breakfast meeting that 55% of blacks who graduated from Stellenbosch University were unlikely to get a job in the first year after graduation, while the figure for whites is 12%. For Wits University, 29% of its black graduates had a slim chance of getting a job a year after leaving university, while the figure for white graduates was 7%.

These figures provide just a glimmer of the reality that racism has simply gone underground.

via www.bdlive.co.za

Strange that a person like Thami Mazwai, who I have the highest respect for, would be blinded by the missing logic in Blunt Nzimande's statement.  It's likely that the statistics themselves hide the reality.  But if I'm wrong at least I offered a little clarity.

We'll go back to the Economically Active Population - the latest statistics can be found off StatSA.  The statistics are too difficult to read through but I'll give a round about estimate of what they are per race group.

African - 85%

White - 5%

Coloured - 5%

Indian - 5%

Let's say that the EAP mirrors the graduates at all universities in South Africa (Mazwai is remiss by not mentioning something as concrete as this), if there are 100 graduates then 85 would be African, 5 white etc.  This means that at Stellenbosch 38 and a quarter black graduates are likely to get jobs, 4.4 whites on the other hand will get jobs.  I'd say the Africans are winning hands down here.  You can follow the same logic for Wits.

I don't see any racism here at all (other than from Blunt) - all I see is another politician who has found he has to become race obsessed because the alliance he represents has to blame its failures on something.  Shades of Hitler.

 

Manyi fired as govt spokesperson - report

Cape Town - Jimmy Manyi's contract, which expires at the end of the month, will not be renewed, according to a report.
 
The Sunday Times reported that the government spokesperson was informed of the decision.

It is not known whether he will leave the public service or be transferred to another department or government agency

via www.news24.com

Oh please let it be true.