Women should be in the forefront of efforts to accelerate economic transformation in South Africa.
This was Trade and Industry (Dti) Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina’s key message during the second Women’s Empowerment Conference hosted by the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission at Meropa Casino and Entertainment World on Friday.
More than 500 women attended the conference which was held under the theme Advancing Women Empowerment through the B-BBEE Act.
Gina said it was crucial that women dedicate a day during Women’s Month to gather and deliberate on matters of economic transformation with emphasis on how to take advantage of the opportunities available under the B-BBEE Act to develop women, grow women-owned businesses, and identify any barriers for women in accessing these opportunities.
“Women must play a pivotal role in influencing decisions and strategic direction in our economy, and not be in the periphery. We must accept sadly though that even with the above opportunities, the pace of economic transformation remains sluggish and requires robust acceleration. Women, by their nature are leaders, and thus, should lead economic transformation in South Africa. As women we need to take cognisance of our capabilities and positively contribute in building an inclusive economy for our country,” Gina said.
She added that it was important that every woman in South Africa must have information of opportunities available through the B-BBEE Act because the Codes of Good Practice set specific targets for the advancement of black women to increase the extent to which black women own and manage existing and new enterprises, and to increase their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training.
She cited the ownership scorecard, saying in ownership transactions 10% of economic interest must flow to black women, which means a transaction that does not incorporate black women will be awarded less points. She said it was for this reason that more measured entities were seeking women partners for B-BBEE transactions, and women must know this to be able to negotiate better and avoid being used as façades for scoring points.
She also urged businesswomen to apply for participation in the Black Industrialists Programme and for support from other incentives programmes of the department, which women-owned businesses can access to grow their businesses and employ more South Africans.
Gina also cited that the recent studies conducted by the B-BBEE Commission for 2017 and 2018 show that black women still occupy less positions compared to males and white people on the boards of entities listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), standing at 18% in 2017 and 21,63% in 2018, despite women being the majority in this country. Further, in terms of ownership, black women were sitting at about 9% in 2017 and 10,1% in 2018, which remains low considering the demographics.
Representatives of B-BBEE Commission also addressed issues under the topics compliance and good practices, understanding government procurement processes and products and services for SMMEs.
Story: RC Myburgh
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