The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission will today host the Gauteng leg of its provincial conferences at the Lord’s Signature Hotel in Meyerton.
The provincial conferences, said the Department of Trade and Industry in a statement, seeks to raise awareness on broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE).
“The provincial conferences are part of a major programme to educate, create awareness, and showcase the services of the B-BBEE Commission and various related government entities that are tailor-made to assist businesses,” said the department.
The emphasis is on Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and previously disadvantaged individuals, to participate meaningfully in the South African economy.
“The B-BBEE Commission is committed to continuous communication that helps South Africans to identify instances where they are being exploited for fronting and to prevent these practices upfront,” the department said.
B-BBEE Commissioner Zodwa Ntuli in the statement says the conference also aims to help citizens identify empowerment opportunities offered by the B-BBEE Act such as enterprise and skills development programmes, which are critical for the economy.
The Gauteng provincial conference is the Commission’s last provincial engagements this financial year.
This follows a series of conferences in Mpumalanga, Western Cape, Northern Cape, North-West, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Free State, building up to the Annual Conference which will take place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal on 13 March 2020.
“We have learned a lot in these interactions across the country and we will be tailoring our offerings to be more responsive to our stakeholders, based on these learnings.
“From our interactions with participants at the provincial conferences, they left better informed. We expect the participants at the Gauteng conference to get the same type of value,” says Ntuli.
She said B-BBEE must help achieve economic inclusivity and equality, create jobs and reduce poverty, most importantly it must remove obstacles to economic transformation, including lack of financial support and market access, and enable effective implementation of preferential procurement for black businesses by state entities.
“The more we know about B-BBEE Act, the more the anticipated empowerment can flow to the intended beneficiaries. Partnerships between entities in the private and public sector together with intended beneficiaries are encouraged,” said the department.
The Departments of Small Business Development; National Treasury; and Department of Trade and Industry, as well as Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), South African Revenue Service (SARS), and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) will also form part of the conference. – SAnews.gov.za
