ABVA however, does have a role to ensure that a consistent application of the codes is practiced in the market place. This is why draft practice notes, pertaining to the legal interpretation of the Codes and related legislation, were issued for comment to ABVA members.  These draft practice notes do not aim to interpret policy, but rather are an attempt at bringing a level of consistency to the application and legal interpretation of BEE.  

 

The draft practice notes currently represent the compilation of external and internal legal opinion on certain key interpretational matters however policy issues are not addressed in the documents.  The circulation of these draft practice notes follows a mandate given to the ABVA board from ABVA members at the last AGM of ABVA in May 2009.

 

ABVA's technical committee has received several comments (even from non-members) following the circulation of the draft practice notes.  All of these comments are currently being evaluated before circulation of any final practice notes. 

 

In order to create a diverse platform in which to discuss these application issues, ABVA recently opened its membership up to BEE consultants and corporates.  The very purpose of this move by ABVA was to obtain a more representative input into these legal / interpretational matters.  

 

ABVA strongly believes in consistency of application so as to avoid varying interpretations that allow for the giving away of points on the scorecard and diminishing the intentions of BEE.  

 

Government also has been working towards ensuring the credibility of the industry through the accreditation process administered by SANAS. In line with government policy, ABVA has always referred to the legal interpretation of all the legislation which governs BEE implementation, the Codes of Good Practice, the SANAS R47 and the Verification Methodology. The legal position embodied in these documents show that only agencies that have made application to SANAS before the 1st February 2010 could be regarded as a "verification agency" for purposes of the minister's notices issued during the course of 2009.   

 

With the recent landmark of February 1^st behind us, the verification industry is now in a much stronger position to ensure consistency and credibility in BEE verification. ABVA will continue to play its role in this process alongside the dti, SANAS, the BEE Advisory Council and other stakeholders.

 

Thanks to the assistance of organisations such as ABVA, there are now accredited agencies and a host of agencies who will soon be accredited that can take BEE verification to the next level.

 

ABVA is proud of its achievements working with government and business so as to ensure credible and consistent application of the BEE codes.

 

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For more information contact Njabulo Mbatha at Red Flag Design & Marketing: (011) 447 8283, njabulo@redflag.co.za