President Cyril Ramaphosa says more needs to be done to expand and support black-owned businesses in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the inaugural Black Industrialists and Exporters Conference in Sandton on Wednesday (20 July), the president said the country\u2019s black industrialists need greater representation across the economy.<\/p>\n
While progress around broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) has been made, Ramaphosa said that the transformation agenda needs to “shift to a higher gear”.<\/p>\n
According to the president, the transformation agenda in the country is underpinned by two broad goals:<\/p>\n
To reach these goals, there needs to be a focus on cutting bureaucratic red tape and addressing other obstacles within the state, he said. However, he stressed that the responsibility also falls on the private sector.<\/p>\n
“We want a frank conversation about impediments to the expansion of black business, not just from government, but from the private sector as well,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We need to talk about private sector procurement, about value chains, about access to financing for emerging black business and about how existing systems militate against emerging black business.”<\/p>\n
The president said that to improve the trajectory of broad-based black economic empowerment, fundamental reforms need to address the country’s failing infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The government should take necessary steps to improve the state of ports, rail lines and roads across the nation – but there also needs to be more competition in the telecommunications industry, energy and water sector.<\/p>\n
“These reforms are all necessary if we are to create conditions that enable black industrialists to emerge, to grow and to flourish.”<\/p>\n
Incoming regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n In June 2022, Ramaphosa appointed the country\u2019s new BBBEE Advisory Council which will be responsible for guiding the government on the \u2018intensified transformation\u2019 of the economy.<\/p>\n Subsequently, the government has made two big transformation moves in the events and legal industries in South Africa.<\/p>\n The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is holding national consultations on a new BBBEE sector code for the Events, Technical and Production Service Industry, focused on transforming the events industry which has historically lagged behind BEE targets in the sector.<\/p>\n The formation of a BBBEE sector code for the events industry comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s cabinet has approved the publication of the Draft Legal Sector Code (Draft LSC) for public comment.<\/p>\n The draft legal code comes as the legal profession does not currently have a sector code to guide it in addressing the imbalances and inequalities in the profession.<\/p>\n Transformation was also a key topic in discussions held between the government and some of the large media houses in the country, where there was “an in-principle agreement on what needs to be done” in the industry.<\/p>\n The biggest transformation push, however, comes through the new Employment Equity Amendment Bill, which is expected to be the vanguard of a new transformation push for the country.<\/p>\n The bill will allow the Employment and Labour minister Thulas Nxesi to set employment equity targets for different business sectors. The minister can set targets for different occupational levels, sub-sectors or regions.<\/p>\n The amendments would also require the government to issue contracts only to firms that have been certified as compliant with this law.<\/p>\n The bill is currently before president Cyril Ramaphosa for consideration. The government is expected to conclude the legislative process for the bill in September 2022.<\/p>\n
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