While organisations might be looking at the big picture that is complying with the revised B-BEE codes, they might be overlooking the finer details that equally matter. One of them is the implication of the changes on the key areas of focus. And what come to mind are the areas of preferential procurement and enterprise development.
Precisely, the new BEE score card has merged preferential procurement and enterprise development components and increased their score from 35 to 40 points out of a hundred.
Introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) the changes are aimed at compelling organisations to achieve the original objective of enterprise development component, which is developing their small black suppliers.
An export in the area, managing director of Who owns Whom, Andrew McGregor, lists criteria on which the performance of companies will be judged:
- The percentage of enterprise development spent on suppliers;
- The size of enterprise development spent on suppliers;
- The initiative’s duration;
- The sponsor’s operational involvement with supported suppliers; and
- The financial independence of the initiative – that is, is the financial support consistent?
Companies had better take note, lest they will be caught unawares. The dti warns that it will leave no stone unturned in ensuring compliance.