Companies intent on carrying out black economic
empowerment (BEE) deals should go ahead despite BEE codes of good
practice not yet having been finalised, a BEE advisory firm said
on Wednesday.
"As long as companies comply with the spirit
of BEE and view BEE as a strategic value contributor, then... they
would have embarked on a process to address broad-based BEE,"
said Soria Hay, the executive director of Bravura, an integrated
equity and debt company.
Bravura advises companies on their BEE strategies
and initiatives, and structures BEE transactions.
Hay said a key issue facing business was whether to move forward
on their empowerment strategies before the BEE codes of good practice
were finalised.
"... the guiding principles behind the codes
will remain unchanged, companies should not delay the implementation
of BEE strategies," she said in a media statement.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Trade and Industry
Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa made it clear that while the codes were
under review, there would be "no change in the guiding principles
behind them".
"In particular, there is no reason to delay
ownership transactions as the ownership codes will remain unchanged,"
Hay said.
She said in Bravura's view, the longer companies
wait to address BEE issues, the harder it would be to achieve any
strategic advantage from broad-based BEE.
"In addition, BEE elements outside of ownership
are much harder to achieve in a short period of time," she
said.
