B-BBEE CERTIFICATE & AFFIDAVIT COLLECTION

DON’T’ LET IT BE AN UPHILL BATTLE

Bridget Themba is the Certificate Services Manager at the BEE Chamber and holds

a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Human Resources Management

and Marketing. She has extensive knowledge about B-BBEE Certificate Validation.

Daily, Bridget is responsible for all operations pertaining to the collection and

validation, coordination and quality control of B-BBEE Credential collections on

behalf of BEE Chamber members

The annual collection of B-BBEE Certificates and Affidavits

(B-BBEE Credentials) is one of the most arduous tasks in preparing

for a B-BBEE Verification. It takes resources, patience and

consistent follow-up. However, as each valid B-BBEE Credential

contributes to the overall scorecard, it is necessary to go through

the process to meet procurement targets. It goes without saying

that many organisations choose to outsource this task; however,

even when outsourced, there are challenges in encouraging

suppliers to submit their updated B-BBEE Credentials.

A core reason for slow collection rates is that the supply chains

of the majority of organisations do not realise the importance

of updating their B-BBEE Credentials, specifically those that

only have to produce an Affidavit. Therefore, organisations must

educate their supply chain on why they must update and then

submit their B-BBEE Credentials. In many cases, when an

organisation requests updated B-BBEE Credentials, a supplier,

not understanding the rationale behind the request, may think it is

being red-flagged for other reasons. Alternatively, small suppliers,

for example the healthcare sector, are not aware that their

customers require them to supply B-BBEE Credentials.

Apart from suppliers that simply ghost a request for updated

B-BBEE Credentials, collection timelines are an issue, so

is incorrect or erroneously applied information on B-BBEE

Credentials, suppliers measured on the wrong Sector Code of

Good Practice, incorrect Financial Year End applied, a supplier

changing address and phone number without notice or going

into liquidation, and the list goes on. However, the core

challenge is planning Time is always of the essence, as the date for a B-BBEE

Verification is scheduled. Each department or person submitting

information for a B-BBEE Verification scrambles to collate, then

submit, their portion of the B-BBEE Scorecard to the person

who manages the process. However, in terms of collecting

B-BBEE Credentials, the process more often than not starts too

late. To ensure that B-BBEE Credentials are collected accurately

and timeously to meet the timeline for a B-BBEE Verification,

organisations must allow a generous timeline. In saying that,

those at the top of the Transformation chain must manage their

expectations on the total number of B-BBEE Credentials that they

must collect against the B-BBEE Verification timeline.

The perfect timeline for the collection of B-BBEE Credentials

is when an organisation becomes a supplier. A robust Supplier

Application process will ensure that the captured information

is correct.

Organisations that successfully collect their updated B-BBEE

Credentials, for the most, have educated their suppliers about

why it is necessary to update B-BBEE Credentials annually. In

many cases, organisations provide a guide that outlines their

Preferential Procurement Policy and the expectations of its

suppliers. As each supplier was robustly vetted on becoming

one, most updated B-BBEE Credentials meet the requirements.

Some organisations include a clause in the terms and conditions

that obligate a supplier to update their credentials annually, failing

which they would be nullified as a supplier.

Thus, if an organisation intends to procure goods or services from

such a supplier in the future, the supplier would have to reapply to

regain supplier status. Most importantly, the successful collection

of updated B-BBEE Credentials depends on an adequate

timeline, irrespective of whether the collection is done internally or

outsourced.