Two weeks ago, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission declared that a company with a naturalised black South African citizen as one as its shareholders had misrepresented its BEE credentials.
If your company has black shareholders, one of them South African by birth and another through naturalisation, it is illegal for it to bid for government tenders as ‘100% black owned’. However, although this is known, there are other individuals who may decide to take chances and nefariously benefit from the pot of gold that is lucrative government tenders by fudging their status.
Recently, Times Live reported that the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission passed its verdict in a case of misrepresentation of BEE status. The Commission declared that Vicky Adey Consulting flouted the BBBEE Act by getting government contracts while one of its shareholder was a Nigerian-born naturalised South African citizen. The naturalised citizen holds a 40% shares of the company while the South African born shareholder 60%.
Vicky Adey Consulting has since committed to withdrawing from each panel of contractors and service providers of any organ of state or public entity, for contracts it was awarded on the basis of false information.
Naturalised black citizens do not qualify to benefit from government tenders under the B-BBEE Act. The B-BBEE Act specifically defines black people to exclude any non-black South African citizens, foreign nationals and black people who acquired citizenship by naturalisation after 27 April 1994.
During the era of State Capture, they were alleged attempts to amend the B-BBEE Act to extend privileges of government contracts to naturalised black South African citizens. This was a move in which the some high profile beneficiaries who were naturalised citizens were said to have been behind it.