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BUSINESS DAY TV: BEE bodies to form industry group that ‘will speak with one voice’
by Transcript Services,
2015-07-30 10:35:01.0
BUSINESS DAY TV: BEE bodies to form industry group that ‘will speak with one voice’
DAVID Ndou is chairman of the Association of B-BBEE Professionals.
BUSINESS DAY TV: A merger of the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) industry’s two main representatives is being finalised, creating one professional organisation. This in the context of a third wave of BEE having just begun in SA with new Codes of Good Practice having come into effect on 1 May 2015. David Ndou, who is chairman of the Association of B-BBEE Professionals (ABP), joins us now in the News Leader studio.
David…so we have the ABP merging with the National Association of BEE Consultants to form a single professional body for the broad-based black economic empowerment industry. Why…is it as simple as to have things more aligned with industry standards?
DAVID NDOU: Yes, what we have seen in the past is that we’ve had the ABP, previously known as the Association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA) representing the verification industry and we’ve had the National Association of BEE Consultants (NABC) representing the consultants in the past and these two bodies have been interpreting the Codes and practising in the industry but following different Codes of Conduct.
In the past, this has caused, if you want to call it, different interpretations and applications of the codes. So much so, that the industry has always been under different streams.
But what we are doing now is bringing these two organisations together, also being joined by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) and forming an industry body that will speak with one voice, whether we’re dealing with issues of consulting or verification of practitioners in the industry…we’ll be speaking with one voice, engaging with the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) as we know that the DTI is the custodian of the BEE Act. So as the industry we felt that the time was now ripe for all bodies to come together and really harmonise and work together in taking this transformation forward.
BDTV: More often than not that’s easier said than done…seeing synergies extrapolated from the kind of merger like this. You talk about this having a stabilising effect…will there no longer be a BEE differing in interpretations of the law and BEE Codes? Is everyone singing off the same hymn sheet right now or is there still work needing to be done in that regard?
DN: There will definitely be work going forward. We still have to make sure that all the members of the two organisations and all the other industry practitioners come together, but the idea really is to say, let’s start the discussions now, and let’s start walking the talk…so in other words, if we don’t do something now, what will happen is that we will still carry on our different paths.
But this is now the time where we are saying, yes, we understand that from a point of application, you will always have different views because we’re coming from different perspectives. But what we’re also saying is that if we have a merged entity or an amalgamated entity with the same constitution, the market and the industry and the players, and especially the clients who are the South African companies, the corporates will have one route cause analysis which they can follow.
BDTV: What have some of the challenges been when it comes to some of the accreditation and verification practices ensuring that transformation within the South African economy is properly managed?
DN: Correct…that’s exactly what we’re doing with this merger because if you look at the way that we’ve worked in the past, especially as you mentioned earlier on, we have the DTI, which published the amended Act last year, and we also revised the BEE Codes of Good Practice. The DTI is busy now working on the Technical Assistant Guide, which is a document that will assist organisations in implementing the codes.
And what we have seen is that in the past, we have worked well with the DTI where they have had sub-committees and we have been part of those sub-committees where we’ve given input and comments into these documents that the DTI is now busy working on, specifically the Technical Assistance Guide.
But now what we’re saying is that if we all come together, whether we’re a consultant, whether we’re a verification agency, whether you are a practitioner, and we give a concise view of these inputs it will bring us to a stage where if there is anybody within the industry that is actually not applying these codes correctly, then the market, the industry and the clients will be able to escalate their issues to a single body where we will be able to take disciplinary actions against any member of our organisation who is not following these Codes…
BDTV: You speak of the new Codes of Good Practice that came into effect in May, how do you see this changing the landscape within this industry, moving forward?
DN: The biggest change we’re already seeing is that small businesses which are exempted, micro enterprises first of all, and the black-owned QSCs now only need a sworn affidavit which is something that was debated quite extensively in the industry. But for larger organisations and for the rest of the organisations we see the codes being very difficult but again, it’s levelling the playing field. So as much as it’s going to be difficult the outcome will see an improved transformation of the country.
BDTV: I asked the question because there has been some commentary that there has been an unofficial shift in emphasis in ANC and policy maker circles, though official government policy is still there that BEE should be broad-based. The idea that government must create more black industrialists now dominates that political context. So what are you making of that kind of conversation that’s being had?
DN: The idea of bringing in more players through the broad-based transactions within BEE is, we believe, the right way to go and we have seen this, and that’s why we have given our inputs during the revised Act and also the revisions to the codes. Those were some of the comments and input that we have given. So we strongly believe that government was correct in shifting from individuals to more broad-based.
However, the issue of the statement made by the DTI, I believe they had also made a follow-up…clarification statement on that, is that we are also very much aware of the industry or manipulation of some of the broad-based schemes, and I believe this is where the DTI was coming from to say…there are definite problems of fronting which could be found in some of these schemes, but we definitely do not believe that the DTI or the government should shift towards the single or individual. We believe the correct thing is to shift towards broad-based, but yes we need to shift towards the challenges that we faced under the broad-based schemes.
DAVID Ndou is chairman of the Association of B-BBEE Professionals.
BUSINESS DAY TV: A merger of the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) industry’s two main representatives is being finalised, creating one professional organisation. This in the context of a third wave of BEE having just begun in SA with new Codes of Good Practice having come into effect on 1 May 2015. David Ndou, who is chairman of the Association of B-BBEE Professionals (ABP), joins us now in the News Leader studio.
David…so we have the ABP merging with the National Association of BEE Consultants to form a single professional body for the broad-based black economic empowerment industry. Why…is it as simple as to have things more aligned with industry standards?
DAVID NDOU: Yes, what we have seen in the past is that we’ve had the ABP, previously known as the Association of BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA) representing the verification industry and we’ve had the National Association of BEE Consultants (NABC) representing the consultants in the past and these two bodies have been interpreting the Codes and practising in the industry but following different Codes of Conduct.
In the past, this has caused, if you want to call it, different interpretations and applications of the codes. So much so, that the industry has always been under different streams.
But what we are doing now is bringing these two organisations together, also being joined by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) and forming an industry body that will speak with one voice, whether we’re dealing with issues of consulting or verification of practitioners in the industry…we’ll be speaking with one voice, engaging with the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) as we know that the DTI is the custodian of the BEE Act. So as the industry we felt that the time was now ripe for all bodies to come together and really harmonise and work together in taking this transformation forward.
BDTV: More often than not that’s easier said than done…seeing synergies extrapolated from the kind of merger like this. You talk about this having a stabilising effect…will there no longer be a BEE differing in interpretations of the law and BEE Codes? Is everyone singing off the same hymn sheet right now or is there still work needing to be done in that regard?
DN: There will definitely be work going forward. We still have to make sure that all the members of the two organisations and all the other industry practitioners come together, but the idea really is to say, let’s start the discussions now, and let’s start walking the talk…so in other words, if we don’t do something now, what will happen is that we will still carry on our different paths.
But this is now the time where we are saying, yes, we understand that from a point of application, you will always have different views because we’re coming from different perspectives. But what we’re also saying is that if we have a merged entity or an amalgamated entity with the same constitution, the market and the industry and the players, and especially the clients who are the South African companies, the corporates will have one route cause analysis which they can follow.
BDTV: What have some of the challenges been when it comes to some of the accreditation and verification practices ensuring that transformation within the South African economy is properly managed?
DN: Correct…that’s exactly what we’re doing with this merger because if you look at the way that we’ve worked in the past, especially as you mentioned earlier on, we have the DTI, which published the amended Act last year, and we also revised the BEE Codes of Good Practice. The DTI is busy now working on the Technical Assistant Guide, which is a document that will assist organisations in implementing the codes.
And what we have seen is that in the past, we have worked well with the DTI where they have had sub-committees and we have been part of those sub-committees where we’ve given input and comments into these documents that the DTI is now busy working on, specifically the Technical Assistance Guide.
But now what we’re saying is that if we all come together, whether we’re a consultant, whether we’re a verification agency, whether you are a practitioner, and we give a concise view of these inputs it will bring us to a stage where if there is anybody within the industry that is actually not applying these codes correctly, then the market, the industry and the clients will be able to escalate their issues to a single body where we will be able to take disciplinary actions against any member of our organisation who is not following these Codes…
BDTV: You speak of the new Codes of Good Practice that came into effect in May, how do you see this changing the landscape within this industry, moving forward?
DN: The biggest change we’re already seeing is that small businesses which are exempted, micro enterprises first of all, and the black-owned QSCs now only need a sworn affidavit which is something that was debated quite extensively in the industry. But for larger organisations and for the rest of the organisations we see the codes being very difficult but again, it’s levelling the playing field. So as much as it’s going to be difficult the outcome will see an improved transformation of the country.
BDTV: I asked the question because there has been some commentary that there has been an unofficial shift in emphasis in ANC and policy maker circles, though official government policy is still there that BEE should be broad-based. The idea that government must create more black industrialists now dominates that political context. So what are you making of that kind of conversation that’s being had?
DN: The idea of bringing in more players through the broad-based transactions within BEE is, we believe, the right way to go and we have seen this, and that’s why we have given our inputs during the revised Act and also the revisions to the codes. Those were some of the comments and input that we have given. So we strongly believe that government was correct in shifting from individuals to more broad-based.
However, the issue of the statement made by the DTI, I believe they had also made a follow-up…clarification statement on that, is that we are also very much aware of the industry or manipulation of some of the broad-based schemes, and I believe this is where the DTI was coming from to say…there are definite problems of fronting which could be found in some of these schemes, but we definitely do not believe that the DTI or the government should shift towards the single or individual. We believe the correct thing is to shift towards broad-based, but yes we need to shift towards the challenges that we faced under the broad-based schemes.
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