December 14, 2009
Call for socialisation 'beyond state'
THE South African Communist Party (SACP) has called for an amendment to the Petroleum Resources Development Act in order to ensure the socialisation of SA's mineral wealth beyond formal state control.
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2009
Fighting for the rights of the rightful beneficiaries
If you want an inspiring role model for young entrepreneurs, then look no further than Isaac Shongwe, who was hauled before the courts last week by a major trade union.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:42 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2009
Miner may part with its BEE partner
JUNIOR miner Central Rand Gold (CRG) said yesterday the Financial Services Board (FSB) had rejected a complaint by its 26% empowerment partner, Puno Gold Investments, that CRG had issued false information to its investors.
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2009
Simmers' BEE shareholder taken out of liquidation
There has been much in the press lately regarding the boardroom battles between Simmer and Jack Mines (JSE:SIM) and its BEE shareholder, Vulisango Holdings. However, another dispute involving Simmers and Vulisango has been playing out in the Port Elizabeth High Court, this one related to JCI (JSE:JCD) Limited and the preference shares JCI (JSE:JCD) has in a company called Xelexwa Investment Holdings, formerly known as Jaganda.
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:53 AM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2009
Vodacom faces CCMA over BEE deal
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has started complaints proceedings against Vodacom over what it calls broken promises over its equity deal.
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:52 AM | Comments (0)
September 4, 2009
TAX SUBSIDIES FOR B-BBEE COMPLIANCE
Of the 100 points on the generic B-BBEE scorecard, 20 points can simply - if sometimes dearly - be bought.
The points in question are the 15 points devoted to enterprise development contributions, and the 5 points devoted to socio-economic development contributions.
Posted by StaffWriter at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2009
BEE front tyre deal fraudster fined R1m
A local businessman has been fined R1-million after he pleaded guilty to fraud and entered into a plea bargain with the State for setting up a BEE front company that won a controversial R40m tender to supply the City of Cape Town with tyres and tubes for its fleet of vehicles.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:29 AM | Comments (0)
March 6, 2009
Laws put obstacles in the way of BEE - Richards
NATIONAL legislation created "significant obstacles" in the path of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality's reaching its targets in terms of tenders awarded to advance broad- based economic empowerment, municipal manager Graham Richards said yesterday.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:15 AM | Comments (0)
Court orders BEE firm to return Imuniti shares
The black empowerment consortium that held a stake in Imuniti Holdings has been ordered by the Durban High Court to return the shares to the founding members of the AltX-listed pharmaceutical and nutritional food firm.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:13 AM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2009
Verification agencies will finally BEE legit
SOUTH African companies can now feel more secure that their black economic empowerment scorecards are verified by accredited bodies.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:19 AM | Comments (0)
February 3, 2009
IP Act puts profit first
Government looks to possible profits from patents to drive innovations which benefit everyone.
Posted by StaffWriter at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 4, 2008
No BEE law changes -- official
CAPE TOWN -- The trade and industry department did not see a need to review black economic empowerment (BEE) legislation and codes of good practice now as Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa suggested last week, director-general Tshediso Matona said yesterday.
Posted by StaffWriter at 8:47 AM | Comments (0)
December 3, 2008
Further industrial tariff cuts at WTO would be difficult for SA
Further industrial tariff concessions to unblock the current logjam in the Doha Round of trade talks would be "very difficult" for South Africa to bear, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Wednesday, as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) hinted again to a possible mid-December meeting of ministers, which could be convened to agree modalities.
Posted by StaffWriter at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)
December 1, 2008
Tougher BEE scorecard mooted for companies
THE trade and industry department is considering removing employment equity and skills development from the empowerment scorecard.
Posted by StaffWriter at 8:17 AM | Comments (0)
Use water wisely - Agri SA
Agri SA has called on the irrigation community - the largest water users in South Africa to conserve water and use it within the framework of the National Water Act.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:36 AM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2008
Manyi spurns talk of BEE cutoff date
Johannesburg - Jimmy Manyi, the president of the Black Management Forum (BMF), yesterday rejected talk that the legislative framework for black economic empowerment (BEE) should have a cutoff date, saying this could happen only when most of the economy was in black hands.
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:35 AM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2008
Ensure that regulation does not stifle BEE
Grant Thornton Managing Partner
"THE test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." - F Scott Fitzgerald, 1936.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:38 AM | Comments (0)
BEE name game ends up in court
A DURBAN businesswoman who brought a black economic empowerment partner into her catering business is being hauled before the equality court today for refusing to compensate him for his shares.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:34 AM | Comments (0)
November 6, 2008
BEE code contradictions hold up deals
CONTRADICTIONS between the black economic empowerment (BEE) codes and the government's interpretive guide to the codes are a huge impediment to businesses and have hamstrung a number of business equity deals.
Posted by StaffWriter at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2008
W Cape Premier scraps hospital tender process
Premier Lynne Brown has scrapped the entire tender process for the controversial development of the prime Somerset Hospital site between the new 2010 stadium and the V&A Waterfront, and the process will begin again.
Posted by StaffWriter at 7:48 AM | Comments (0)
October 5, 2008
BEE associates drawn into court battles
Slain mining magnate Brett Kebble liked to be known as a black economic empowerment (BEE) champion. He was generous to empowerment firms associated with him, many of which are now in the sights of an entity he is alleged to have looted.
Posted by StaffWriter at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
September 4, 2008
'Companies falling behind on Bee compliance'
Companies across the board are falling behind on their black economic empowerment (BEE) compliance, a survey by forensic auditing firm KPMG has found.Posted by StaffWriter at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2008
BEE agencies in bid to revive accreditation
REPRESENTATIVES of BEE verification agencies will meet with government officials today in a bid to re- start the process of government accreditation of agencies.Posted by StaffWriter at 9:21 AM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2008
Talks on New Legislation in Cape Town
A number of Chinese people born and bred in South Africa will now be able to be included in Employment Equity, Skills Development and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) legislation.Posted by StaffWriter at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2008
Treasury owes business more cogent legislation
DESPITE the six-year wait for the final Companies Bill, the latest version, tabled three weeks ago, is far from perfect -- even if it is another perfect example of how the infighting between the treasury and the trade and industry department has been detrimental to us all.Posted by StaffWriter at 2:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2008
New study probes Chinese community in SA
A paradox exists between the growing presence and the continued invisibility of Chinese migrants in South Africa, a study revealed on Tuesday.Posted by StaffWriter at 8:17 AM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2008
Chinese people welcome recognition
CLARITY has finally been given to the Chinese community after the Pretoria High Court ruled earlier this month that Chinese people should be considered as black in order to benefit from empowerment policies.Posted by StaffWriter at 8:49 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2008
Chinese are not fully black - Nafcoc
The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) has slammed a high court ruling that defines Chinese South Africans as black and gives them the full benefits of affirmative action legislation, claiming the black economic empowerment (BEE) "cake" was too small to share.Posted by StaffWriter at 7:46 AM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2008
Between apartheid and fine print of BEE
VERNON Whyte has been married three times -- and always to the same woman. Whyte, now 58, first married his wife Gwen in 1975.Posted by StaffWriter at 8:36 AM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2008
Peer review tabled in parliament
The African Peer Review Mechanism's (APRM's) report on South Africa was finally tabled today in parliament.Posted by StaffWriter at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 7, 2008
Partnership Key to Land Reform
Food prices are rising fast. The future of land reform will affect the country's ability to reach its economic growth targets, produce its own food and compete in global agricultural markets.Posted by StaffWriter at 9:21 AM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2008
DTI adjusts incentive programme for capital project studies
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Friday that it had amended the capital projects feasibility programme, previously the South African capital goods feasibility study fund.Posted by StaffWriter at 8:50 AM | Comments (0)
March 7, 2008
Export deals must have BEE factor, says minister
Company black empowerment levels had to be taken into account before firms were allowed to take advantage of the government's international export agreements, Agriculture and Land Affairs minister Lulu Xingwana said on Friday.Posted by StaffWriter at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)
February 7, 2008
DTI extends deadline to implement broad-based BEE codes
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) granted an extension for the transitional period of six months, giving industry more time to implement the Codes of Good Practice for broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE).Posted by StaffWriter at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2008
BEE gets a new buzz with change in laws
THE reforms to South Africa's corporate laws have given black investors an opportunity to restructure more than 70% of black economic empowerment (BEE) deals.Posted by StaffWriter at 7:35 AM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2007
New BEE rules 'will lead to more firms failing rather than succeeding'
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will have to be verified by accredited empowerment rating agencies from next year to qualify for black economic empowerment (BEE) scorecards, according to new rules introduced by the department of trade and industry.Posted by StaffWriter at 7:20 AM | Comments (0)
December 5, 2007
Government's promise
A LONG promised and very significant government policy to give smaller businesses preference when govermnent makes purchases will be implemented from March 2008.Posted by StaffWriter at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2007
Act discourages foreign investment - mining law specialist
Legal company Webber Wentzel Bouwer partner Peter Leon told the South African Institute for Race Relations (SAIRR) that restrictive legislation could scare off prospective investors in the country's mining industry.Posted by StaffWriter at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2005
Twin fiscal changes to facilitate BEE
PROPOSALS by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in Wednesday’s budget ...
Posted by Bernie at 9:32 AM | Comments (0)
February 5, 2005
Change in tax law to benefit BEE deals
Johannesburg - An amendment to the tax law has removed impediments to companies ...
Posted by Bernie at 3:07 PM | Comments (0)
January 7, 2005
Scrutiny reveals flaws in BEE deals
Some of the black economic empowerment transactions concluded last year have pros and cons that have to be analysed, says Absa group executive director Israel Skosana....
Posted by Bernie at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
January 4, 2005
Major shift with release of new BEE codes
COMPANIES with black partners and who meet Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) targets will be able to compete on near equal footing with wholly-owned black companies when it comes to doing business with government, if the release of the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) new BEE Codes of Good Practice in December 2004 are anything to go by.
Posted by Bernie at 3:20 PM
True BEE colours revealed
When it comes to announcing empowerment deals, local companies, particularly financial institutions, tend to go out of their way to proclaim the fantastic business opportunities presented by their respective transactions. However, when it comes time to account for these transactions, the ugly truth emerges.
Posted by Bernie at 8:42 AM
