The conference will focus on state procurement, grants, incentives, licensing and concessions as means to achieve real economic transformation

PRETORIA, South Africa, February 13, 2018/ -- State procurement will come under the spotlight at the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission’s annual conference that will take place at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Thursday, 15 March 2018.

The theme of the conference, Improving State Procurement for Real Empowerment, aimed at finding effective ways in which the state can make B-BBEE a reality for black South Africans and to achieve the objectives of the B-BBEE Act.

According to the Commissioner of the B-BBEE Commission, Ms Zodwa Ntuli, the conference will focus on state procurement, grants, incentives, licensing and concessions as means to achieve real economic transformation and provide black people with access to opportunities.

“B-BBEE can be utilised to bring about economic transformation and access to opportunities and markets by black people through procurement, grants, incentives, licensing and other concessions, and processes within the state must align fully with this purpose. We hope to have accounting officers, procurement officers and chief operating officers from all spheres of government, state-owned entities and the private sector to exchange views on what is expected of them in practice,” says Ntuli.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Gratitude Magwanishe, who inspired the theme for this year’s conference emphasised the need to accelerate Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, especially for the most marginalised groups such as black women, workers and young people in light of opportunities that the B-BBEE Act presents but not fully realised by government through procurement, licences, concessions, etc.

“Every organ of state and public entity must use procurement, incentives and grants more effectively to drive economic empowerment to support more black entrepreneurs and enterprises that can also deliver the job opportunities required by our economy. Thus every entrepreneur, small and big enterprises, women and youth owned businesses, can benefit immensely from this conference, and network with members of the public and corporate sectors,” says Magwanishe.

It is expected that the conference will provide guidance on the requirements of the B-BBEE Act, development of internal procedures to support compliance, reporting requirements, ways to identify noncompliance and fronting practices, as well as alignment between procurement and B-BBEE requirements.

The B-BBEE Commission is established in terms of Section 13B of the amended B-BBEE Act No 46 of 2013. The Commission’s mandate, amongst others, is to supervise and encourage adherence to the B-BBEE Act in the interest of the public, to promote good governance and accountability by creating an effective and efficient environment for the promotion and implementation of the objectives of broad-based black economic empowerment.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa