Pretoria - The campaign to inform the public of the Broad–Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Amendment Act is proving to be a success, says the Department of Trade and Industry.
The Director responsible for Compliance at the B-BBEE Commission, Busisiwe Ngwenya, said the campaign is an important tool in empowering society.
“In all the three sessions that we have already conducted in Daveyton, Gauteng, Bellville in the Western Cape and here in Rustenburg today, the number of questions and degree of engagement with all participants are testimony to the amount of empowerment that the campaign is creating,” Ngwenya said on Tuesday at the Rustenburg outreach.
She said the campaign is not only creating awareness about the work of the commission, it is also helping the commission get feedback from the public.
“We are not only creating awareness about the work of the commission, but we are also getting feedback from the participants who want to know more about various aspects of the empowerment legislation, including the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice,” she said.
Ngwenya said the success of the implementation of the B-BBEE Act and the transformation of the South African economy in general depend on the understanding of the objectives of legislation by all sectors of the society.
The B-BBEE Act requires the commission to promote public awareness about matters related to broad-based black economic empowerment.
“Economic growth, development and B-BBEE are complementary and related processes. Government’s approach is that B-BBEE must be an inclusive process and not an exclusive one. No economy can grow by excluding any part of its people and an economy that is not growing cannot integrate all of its citizens in a meaningful way,” said Ngwenya.
Sworn affidavits for Exempted Micro Enterprises, skills development, annual financial statements and fronting are some of the common issues that dominated discussions during the sessions.
Ngwenya said they have partnered with the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) to ensure that issues related to B-BBEE verification agencies are taken care of. – SAnews.gov.za
