Breaking BEE News

The minister of trade and industry has issued a notice that as from 1st August 2009, only certificates issued by accredited verification agencies will be valid.

What it means:

From 1st August 2009 onwards: You may no longer accept any BEE certificate from your suppliers. That certificate must have been produced by an agency accredited by SANAS, or one that has a pre-assessment letter from SANAS.

You must also only supply your customers with a certificate produced by an accredited agency.

The notice states that any certificate produced prior to the date of publication of the notice (9th April) will remain valid for a period of 12 month from date of issue.

This means that existing certificates remain valid, if accurate, even if produced by a “non-accredited” agency.

Our comment:

It is as relevant now, if not more so, to calculate and improve your own scorecard, BEFORE you call in a verification agency. A verification agency’s job is to verify your data, not to “give you a scorecard or certificate”. Successful companies work hard at building up a scorecard, get expert advice, gather data, calculate their score, and then call in a verification agency to verify the accuracy of the data.

The minister has obviously taken this step to remove the risk of fronting, and production of inaccurate scorecards. Reports are that the BEE Advisory Council is finally going to be constituted and this is a step to assisting the council in its duties. Unfortunately it is also a step that adds red tape and increases operating costs of small businesses.

However with the proliferation of verification agencies you should be able to negotiate a good price with an agency, particularly if you have prepared properly.

Let us show you how!

Other information:

Keith and the EconoBEE Team