Is it strange that these codes come out six months before a rather critical election? An election that could show the ANC up for the bungling party that it is. It's common cause that the black middle class is wavering when it comes to casting their vote in favour of the ANC. These BEE codes are designed to put black people first. But it's not all black people that are destined to benefit from them. The definition of black remains consistent, Africans, Coloureds and Indians. And as far as black business owners are concerned this definition remains. Black employees are a different story, the EAP targets kick in and you'll clearly see that black upliftment is effectively limited to African people. It's possible that Coloureds might benefit in the Western Cape using regional EAP statistics but that's not guaranteed because many government departments use national statistics on a regional basis. This then puts Indians and Coloureds in rather a precarious position because their blackness will only contribute a handful of points in comparison with their African co-workers. And then there are ridiculous requirements for each element that defy the commonly understood principle that is contained in the BEE Strategy document which srequires that "BEE must be implemented within the context of sound principles." These codes are empowerment uber alles.
Why then should I involve the DA? Simple, the DA believes in BEE but follows a simple rule (page 16 of the DA Green Paper on Economic Inclusion)
In terms of the rest of the scorecard, including the proposed changes to the scorecard for Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment and the Codes of Good Practice that support it, we will continue to apply our simple test: does a proposed measurement serve to broaden opportunities, or will it enrich a connected few.
It doesn't take much to show that the new codes focus entirely on ownership and place this far above any of the other elements. In fact it's likely that is this is designed to appeal to a small class of black entrepreneurs who are critically aware that other companies will never be able to compete with them on an empowerment level. And just to ensure that they don't they've insisted on a scorecard that they are exempted from that will decrease the likelihood of those companies ever competing with them – certainly when it comes to state business. When you see it in this context you understand why it is so important for the likes of Zungu to insist on the PPPFA being scrapped. The PPPFA has this annoying requirement that if a primary bidder outsources more than 25% of the contract to another service provider then that service provider has to have an equal or better score than the primary bidder. This is a major problem for rent activities where you have a level one bidder fronting for a non-compliant bidder (actually it's a problem for both parties). Remove the PPPFA and you can front at will and charge a sizable margin and the state will pay.
Back to the DA.
I've shown that their core voting public in the Western Cape are under threat from these codes, similarly the Indians in KZN who only make up 11% of the EAP in that province are offered little comfort under the codes (if they are employed). Then you have the white population who the codes are directed at; they are going to have to bear the financial brunt of implementing them alone. I can't say with much certainty but I am quite sure that the DA enjoys a great deal of support amongst those people. They could turn their backs on them and go with the new codes, which would then make Agang a rather attractive option. Also there's a lot of money amongst the whiteys and the DA probably would need some of it.
Think of the political kudos that the DA could gain if they are able to interdict these codes from going any further. They are patently un-implementable and are destined to fail. I've just written a press release that remarks that it's almost ironic that the codes have come out at the same time as the etolls are being prepared for implementation. Both require buy-in and acceptance from the public. Both are very easy to render unworkable.
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