The first draft of the ICT industry`s black economic empowerment (BEE) charter is ready and will be released to the public next week, says Dali Mpofu, chairman of the ICT empowerment working group.
The draft will contain the principles to govern the charter but will not include any of the specific targets relating to issues such as timeframes, share ownership or skills training, says Mpofu.
"The decision was taken to release the first draft without the targets, so that there can be more debate around the principles first without people getting hung up on the targets."
Mpofu says the plan is to have monthly updates of the charter. Feedback will then be solicited from industry associations, and the working group and the three research units working on the charter will run a roadshow.
"After each draft, the various associations will run workshops for their members to get feedback on the draft.
"Along with this, the working group will be going on a roadshow in March, visiting all nine provinces to promote awareness on the charter. Finally, our in-house research unit, together with research teams at Empowerdex and Forge Ahead, will continue to do scientific research on the charter," he says.
The final draft is expected to be ready at the latest by the end of June, when it will be handed over to government for review, Mpofu says.