Cabinet met Wednesday, 23 November 2011 to discuss, amongst other things, Amendments to the BBBEE Act. They have approved a number of amendments related to all elements of the scorecard and now will release it for public comment shortly. There is no detail released yet as to what the actual changes are, however, a spokesperson has confirmed yesterday, that draft is coming soon. The spokesperson also confirms the proposed criminalising of fronting. Public comment period is usually 60 days after which the amendments are signed into law. This means that the changes could be legislated on the 5 year anniversary of the codes, 9 Feb 2012.
Reviewing past press releases and industry chatter, the following are the likely proposed amendments:
• Fronting to be criminalised – Fine of 2 – 10% of turnover, possibly Top Management can be held personally liable with jail time of up
to 10 years
• Broader based groupings to receive more of the available ownership points
• Management Control points reduced in favour of Skills Development
• Employment Equity to be strictly or at least more closely aligned with the EE Act
• Skills Development to be directly aligned with the National Skills Plan and increased points available
• Procurement and ED sub-minimums to be introduced with point fines if not met (reduced overall score)
• SED may be fewer points in favour of ED
• QSE’s will need to comply with all seven elements per targets in Code Series 800
More to Follow…