Among the high-profile speakers at the conference will be corporate governance guru Mervyn King who will provide an overview of King III - his latest report on governance and a code of governance principles for South Africa. King will talk extensively about the relationship between King III, global sustainability, triple bottom line accounting and BEE.

 

The conference will culminate with a gala dinner and the Annual BEE Awards presentation at which top-performing companies will be honoured for their empowerment achievements.

 

Given the current public discourse, the conference promises to be very topical. Just last week the latest Employment Equity Report was released, prompting the newly appointed director-general of the Department of Labour, Jimmy Manyi, to call for stiffer penalties for companies not effecting racial transformation fast enough.

 

And the Young Communist League issued a statement accusing BEE rating companies and the private sector of collusion "in manipulating ownership patterns and averting regulations in order to keep the economic ownership of this country in white hands". President Jacob Zuma, among various government leaders, also added to the debate when he said that government needs to improve the implementation of broad-based BEE in South Africa's business sector.

 

Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, referring to the "disturbing trend" in the latest Employment Equity Report, said prosecution in the Labour Court should be enforced immediately.

 

The 3^rd Annual BEE Conference is geared to help address these critical issues in BEE. It is being presented jointly by EES-SIYAKHA and the BEESA Group and follows on the outstanding success of the previous two annual BEE conferences.

 

Apart from King, a number of other experts and high-profile speakers will also be participating in the conference, such as Andrew Bizzell, Chairman of the National Association of BEE Consultants, Nomonde Mesatywa, Chief Director for Black Economic Empowerment with the Department of Trade and Industry, Lumkile Mondi, Vice President and Chief Economist of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Sandile Hlophe, Managing Partner of KPMG South Africa.

 

"It has been two years since the commencement of the BEE Codes of Good Practice, and while many companies have already come a long way in developing and implementing BEE strategies, the focus thus far has largely been on numbers," says Jan Munnik, managing director of EES-SIYAKHA. "At the 3^rd Annual BEE Conference we will focus strongly on looking beyond complying with the Codes and simply chasing numbers."

 

Munnik, who is regarded as a leading expert in employment equity transformation and BEE strategy development, says the conference will focus on sustainable BEE which includes the economy and international triple bottom line accounting, and the linkage between them.

 

"It will be about looking at BEE in the context of world trends and how measured entities can best engage therewith so as to maximise their benefit, and their contribution to the economy," says Munnik. 

 

And, as with the previous two conferences, those attending will have the opportunity to learn about the most recent BEE-related developments and best practices advances from leading experts regarding the various components of BEE.

 

Major topics to be addressed at the conference include the relationship between King III, global sustainability, triple bottom line accounting and BEE; BEE as a vehicle to drive economic growth and sustainability; international interest in BEE and economic development programmes; final criteria to be used by the Department of Trade and Industry and statutory bodies in procurement and issuing of licenses; and the BEE Governance Model.

 

Separate concurrent sessions will be held at the conference on the different elements of the scorecard, led by subject matter experts, covering topical issues and case studies, enabling delegates to attend sessions focusing on their specialist areas. In addition, updates on developments with verification, and the adoption and application of Codes by Government, Public Entities and licensing bodies will be offered. And training workshops will focus on Best Practice Strategy Development and Implementation in Human Capital Transformation, Skills Development Maximisation, Enterprise Development and Procurement.

 

Also to be addressed at the concurrent sessions will be topics such as BEE and corporate governance; the impact of the economic slowdown on BEE deals and exploring viable options; lessons learnt from structuring BEE deals; trusts as a ownership option; and an update on best practice strategy development, as well as case studies from market leaders on human capital transformation and value chain.

 

The 3^rd Annual BEE Conference takes place on 6 - 8 October 2009 at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton. Organisations are also invited to submit entries for the Annual BEE Awards. Application forms and more details are available online at www.annualbeeconference.co.za.

 

 

• Members of the media are welcome to attend the conference. For press kit packs containing copies of presentations, please contact the organisers. The full programme and details of presenters are attached below.

 

Contact Details:  For more information, please contact Ryan Muller by email at ryan@ees.co.za or call him at (011) 726-3040, or visit the conference website at www.annualbeeconference.co.za.