(O) bservers point to a significant lack of clarity over the new codes.
They also say the deadlines for implementing sector-specific changes may be too ambitious.
"Without adjustment to these requirements, (construction) companies are at risk of losing their government contracts. The tick-box approach to BEE is over," Murray Chabant, CEO of empowerment consultancy Signa, said last week
via www.bdlive.co.za
If there is one statement that really pisses me off it's Murray's "The tick-box approach to BEE is over." The new codes are going to push fronting through the stratosphere. Ticking boxes is about the only way to get through these shambolic codes. The issue here is going to be the cost of verificaton. In order to verify to the extent that the codes appear to prescribe you'll need to expend huge amounts of time and people. For a company the size of FNB this could take as long as an audit. The problem is that with the increased number of verification agencies the price per verification has come down substantially. There were stories that before the accreditation of the first VAs, when EmpowerDex was all the rage, costs of R500k could be levied. Those days have gone, I would suggest a very expensive verification would be between R50k and R100k. These prices are going to have to stay at similar prices because our already over-stretched private sector cannot afford to pay more. Corners are going to have to be cut to keep the verification viable. The VA will check to see whether what you did is true. They won't go into the substance of it, like Rob wants them to. They can't because they'll lose money.
Murray get your facts straight, unless of course you were quoted out of context.
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