A business expert has cautioned South Africans not to get carried away with huge expectations that the new Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) will be implemented effectively from May 1 2015.
In an article, Keith Levenstein from EconoBEE argues that the misconception is that the codes are one simplified document, yet they encompass various codes for different businesses.
“Large businesses that follow the generic codes, specialised enterprises, smaller ones using the qualifying small enterprises (QSE) codes, exempt micro enterprises (EME) and companies falling into one of the nine sectors that have their own codes: transport, construction, tourism, ICT, forestry, finance, property, accountancy and agriculture,” he says.
What makes it all the more complicated is that other documents must be issued as well. One of the most important documents is the verification manual which is a document that agencies use to guide them when verifying an entity and SASAE 3502, used by auditors for verification. SANAS also needs to go through the process of re-accreditation for 52 agencies before they will be allowed to verify using the amended codes.
There is no quick fix solution apparently, as the sector codes are virtually nonexistent. And even if they were drafted they might have to be reviewed thoroughly, says Levenstein.
“Assuming the minister consults very quickly, and every industry is in broad agreement with every sector code, it is a physical impossibility for the minister to sign all the final sector codes and have them gazetted and published in the Government Gazette by April 30 2015.”
He foresees the amended codes becoming impossible to implement as they are incomplete, unless associated documents are written, approved and gazetted.
“Having generic codes without QSE or sector codes is a contradiction,” Levin says, adding that they will be a challenge in having codes without a verification agency to issue a certificate.
