By the B-BBEE Commission
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) aims to ensure meaningful participation of the majority of South African citizens in the mainstream economy. Strategies employed by measured entities should focus on quality, impact and sustainability of each B-BBEE initiative to be implemented. It is not about ticking the box for a higher B-BBEE rating, but more about meaningful inclusion and empowerment of black people in line with the objectives of the B-BBEE Act and our Constitution. B-BBEE is measured by means of the B-BBEE scorecard that recognises five elements: ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise and supplier development and socio-economic development, with additional dimensions that may vary slightly in sector codes.
Since B-BBEE is not a once-off exercise, measured entities are encouraged to develop effective strategies and plans to effectively promote and implement B-BBEE in all facets of their operations which may also result in improved B-BBEE rating. Since B-BBEE is not a once-off exercise, measured entities are encouraged to develop effective strategies and plans to effectively promote and implement B-BBEE in all facets of their operations which may also result in improved B-BBEE rating.
To achieve an improved B-BBEE rating, measured entities must get the basics right, and the following are some of the things that can be done:
Make B-BBEE part of the business strategy, which means it must be integrated and linked to business key drivers, value chain and operations
Develop a focused plan to achieve the strategy, with appropriate monitoring mechanisms and dedicated resources to ensure success of B-BBEE
Identify proactive initiatives that must be implemented and measured in the relevant period in respect of each element
Try to be more involved, even where initiatives are outsourced, so that they can make real impact as opposed to ticking the box for compliance, and B-BBEE reporting must be part of the executive and board meetings to monitor implementation
Align training plan to succession planning and employment equity plan guided by the skills development matrix, and also link it to identification of skilled candidates for promotional opportunities to improve management control
Identify beneficiaries for Skills Development, Enterprise and Supplier Development and Socio-Economic Development a year in advance, screen them carefully and align their needs to your interventions, and monitor impact
Partner with higher learning institutions to maximise the impact on skills development for non-employees to empower young people outside your entity
Reposition your CSI programmes to effectively align with the requirements for SED and direct them more to designated groups, including youth and people in rural and under developed communities
Structure your training and skills development initiatives to focus on scarce skills and the skills for the economy, which should include skills for black people to be able to independently manage, direct and control their enterprises
Develop and implement early warning system to detect fronting, non-compliance, expenditure dumping, double dipping and misrepresentation as these has a huge reputational and regulatory risk for your entity
