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Aim to provide policy clarity on broad-based ownership schemes. 12:00
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Ebrahim Patel â addressing âdifferences in opinionâ that exist. Image: GCIS
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel says the department will soon publish a âpractice noteâ on broad-based worker ownership structures to be used by companies across different sectors of the economy.Â
Worker ownership is seen as an important catalyst for developing a greater level of partnership between workers, managers and owners of companies. The lack of clarity on whether or not the beneficiaries of such schemes are indeed black and have actual voting rights at board level has had a negative impact on some of the investment strategies and effectiveness of the structures.Â
Since April 2019, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) commissioner Zodwa Ntuli has been on the warpath, insisting that several of the longest-established black empowerment schemes are operating in breach of the legislation, claiming BEE “ownership points” to which they are not entitled.
This is surprising for several reasons, not least because there has been no change in the intricate laws and regulations covering approved BEE since 2015.
Ntuli is an employee of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) who was appointed by the minister in early 2019.
The main Broad-Based Ownership Schemes (BBOS) have made repeated calls on the DTIC to clarify the situation. The most recent was on 8 February 2021. But they have got the run-around from government.