With the fourth and final draft of the ICT empowerment charter around the corner, business needs to look at the practical implications of black economic empowerment (BEE), industry experts say.
The "How to BEE in IT" hands-on workshop will be held at The Campus in Bryanston on 15 September and is hosted by ITWeb and Sondeza Transformation Holdings.
It will address the major issues around implementing BEE in SA, and focus on how local IT and business professionals can implement BEE strategies.
The workshop is ideally timed for taking another look at BEE, says Brainier Capital and Consulting MD Brian Rainier, who will be among the presenters at the one-day event.
"Thinking around BEE has changed a lot in the last year. There has been significant talk about why we need BEE. Now, as there is more acceptance, we can look at how we can implement it."
Urmila Bhoola, executive director of human resources organisation the Resolve Group, says the charter will play a critical role in the macro economy. "Although we have achieved political transformation, there have been concerns that we haven`t successfully achieved economic transformation."
Bhoola, who will also present at the workshop, says the charter will open up the economy to the masses. "It will have a positive effect overall."
With the charter due to be implemented by March 2005, businesses are starting to get on board and put their BEE strategies in place, says Rainier. "It`s fairly logical that people will start taking the charter more seriously the closer we get to its implementation. I think we can expect to see a lot more reaction from companies now."
Rainier adds that BEE will likely provide impetus to the ICT industry. "If you consider that the majority of South Africans are not economically active, then developing and bringing new resources into the sector should ultimately stimulate growth, which is a stated objective of all the charters."
In his presentation, Rainier will discuss the structuring of BEE deals, and highlight the pragmatic issues involved. "I want to look at what is available out there, and how you would approach and structure a BEE deal."
Rainier says there is not an abundance of BEE partners in the market, and stresses the need for innovation on the part of companies. "There aren`t millions of partners out there, so you have to look at creating partnerships rather than simply trying to find them."
Bhoola will use her presentation to look at employment equity, and how empowerment and equity relate to one another. "It won`t work to simply place any BEE candidate into a management position and expect [the initiative] to be successful. There must be extensive planning involved."
To register for the workshop, click here.
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