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Property Wheel | 21 June 2023 Growthpoint Properties has asked its shareholders to approve a R250 million broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) ownership scheme for a major empowerment transaction that will continue to fund the flagship corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives that the REIT supports. The proposed transaction would see Growthpoint allocate shares to a special-purpose CSI Trust, which would use dividends from its Growthpoint shares to fund future CSI initiatives focused on education, entrepreneurship, and enterprise development, actioned through Property Point which delivers programmes that support growing small black businesses in the property sector and educational projects such as Growsmart, which assists primary school learners in the Western and Eastern Cape. “The proposed Growthpoint CSI Trust would become a valuable source of perpetual funding for our social impact projects. It would also enhance our B-BBEE credentials by helping to achieve our equity ownership targets in line with the Property Sector Code,” says Shawn Theunissen, Growthpoint Properties Head of Transformation and Corporate Social Responsibility. The finalisation of the B-BBEE deal would see an increase in broad-based elements of the Property Sector Charter scorecard for black ownership of Growthpoint. Growthpoint is a Level 1 BEE contributor. An extraordinary general meeting will be held on Wednesday, the 19th July 2023 for Growthpoint shareholders to consider the proposed scheme, which includes entering into a loan agreement with the Growthpoint CSI Trust to enable it to acquire the R250 million of Growthpoint ordinary shares, valued at a share price of R12.50 (less than 0.6% of the total Growthpoint ordinary shares in issue) together with their full voting rights and dividend entitlements on the same basis as all other Growthpoint ordinary shares. The Growthpoint CSI Trust has been structured to comply with both the B-BBEE Act and the requirements for a public benefit organisation. Besides shareholder approval, as a major B-BBEE transaction, the scheme also needs the green light from South Africa’s B-BBEE Commission. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://propertywheel.co.za/2023/06/growthpoint-proposes-a-r250m-b-bbee-ownership-scheme-in-support-of-its-csi-initiatives/

SA Gov | 20 June 2023 2023 SMME Booster Fund launched after creating 650 jobs The Department of Economic Development and Tourism is excited to announce that it has launched the 2023 iteration of its successful Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Booster Fund. Western Cape MEC of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger said: “SMMEs are the backbone of our economy, contributing significantly to both economic growth and job creation in the Western Cape. Which is why I am very proud of the fact that since the first iteration of the fund in 2019, the SMME Booster Fund has assisted 860 SMMEs, thereby sustaining 4 977 jobs. The Booster Fund has helped these SMMEs to grow, creating an additional 651 jobs.” The SMME Booster Fund provides support to interventions, which include projects and programmes, implemented by organisations and/or municipalities that are geared at supporting SMMEs based in the Western Cape. The Fund will focus specifically on support projects / programmes aimed at growing and developing SMMEs, in the following categories: Exporter development Women-owned businesses Youth-owned businesses Township-based businesses The Fund utilises a co-funding implementation model which encourages collaboration and partnerships and will focus only on the technical support aspect of the project and/or programme. The rollout of other aspects such as training, mentoring, coaching, access to market interventions will be funded by the organisation applying for funding. MEC Wenger continued: “The Western Cape Government takes our role in creating an enabling environment for SMMEs to thrive, seriously. We also understand just how difficult the current climate is for small businesses, especially due to ongoing loadshedding, compromising the ability of all businesses, big and small, to trade.” Applications close on 11 July 2023 at midnight and all information on how to apply as well as the relevant documents can be found on https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/smme-booster-fund-2023 “I strongly encourage qualifying organisations to apply to the SMME Booster Fund so we can help sustain and grow businesses in the Western Cape which will help create many mores jobs in the Western Cape.” concluded MEC Wenger Media Queries: Georgina Maree Spokesperson for the Provincial MEC of Finance and Economic Opportunities (Responsible for the Provincial Treasury and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism) Cell: 076 423 7541 Email: georgina.maree@westerncape.gov.za ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.gov.za/speeches/mec-mireille-wenger-success-2023-smme-booster-fund-20-jun-2023-0000

Admire Moyo | 20 June 2023 Mobile operator MTN is accusing tower company IHS of wilfully breaching the shareholders’ agreement and articles over voting powers. In a media statement today, MTN says it notes recent media reports regarding the IHS annual general meeting (AGM), held on 7 June. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the IHS annual meeting devolved into a tense standoff over investor power, after the tower operator dismissed demands from two of its largest stakeholders. It added that Wendel and MTN, which together own about 45% of the company, argued that all shareholders with at least a 10% stake should have the power to nominate board members. However, it reported that the IHS board dismissed the proposals. MTN, through its subsidiary Mobile Telephone Networks (Netherlands), holds approximately 85.2 million (26%) of IHS shares. The UK-headquartered IHS Towers is one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure providers in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East by tower count, and the fourth largest independent multinational tower company globally. In June last year, IHS Towers completed the acquisition of over 5 000 MTN towers in SA, in a deal that saw the New York Stock Exchange-listed tower company fork out R6.4 billion. IHS Towers now owns 70% of MTN SA’s towers business, with the remaining 30% owned by a B-BBEE consortium. Under the deal, IHS Towers also provides power management services to MTN SA on approximately 13 000 sites, including the acquisition portfolio. MTN has held the IHS shares since prior to the IHS initial public offer (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2021, with the group’s voting rights being capped at 20%. According to MTN, it has been engaged in discussions with IHS regarding corporate governance matters since prior to its IPO. It notes these discussions included the provisions of the shareholders’ agreement that was in place between IHS and its shareholders prior to the IPO; where an amended shareholders’ agreement was implemented post-IPO, with shareholders who are subject to post-IPO lock-in restrictions (shareholders’ agreement). The shareholders’ agreement, among other things, addressed the matter of MTN’s desire to be treated equally to other shareholders when it relates to aligning economic and voting rights, through a priority sale of the group’s proportion of shares that are non-voting, the telco adds. “In view of IHS’s consistent share price underperformance since listing, MTN has not been able to dispose of the non-voting proportion of its shares and remains unable to vote all of its shares,” says the telco. “Accordingly – in order to effect the aforementioned alignment of economic and voting rights – MTN submitted a governance proposal, prior to IHS’s 2023 AGM, that was to be considered by all shareholders at the AGM.” It points out the proposal was intended to protect important shareholder rights and to better align IHS’s corporate governance with other publicly-traded companies. MTN adds that under the shareholders’ agreement and its articles, IHS was required to include the proposal on the agenda for the AGM, notify all other shareholders of the proposal and allow shareholders to vote on the proposal at the AGM. “However, MTN strongly believes IHS has wilfully breached the shareholders’ agreement and articles by failing to notify its shareholders of the proposal and denying its shareholders the opportunity to vote on it at the AGM. “MTN has requested the IHS board to call an extraordinary general meeting of the IHS shareholders in order to consider the abovementioned proposal, and any other shareholder proposals relating to governance, to which the group awaits a response. Beyond this, MTN is currently evaluating all its options with the intention of fully enforcing the shareholders’ agreement and articles,” it concludes. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.itweb.co.za/content/6GxRKqYQ41Wqb3Wj

Generally, expenses on bursaries for employees do not constitute Skills Development Expenditure if an organisation can recover any of the employee's expenses or if the grant is conditional in any way. However, the following two conditions are acceptable as part of an employee obligation whereby expenses will be recognised. Successful completion of studies within an identified period; or The continuation of employment for a stated period following the successful completion of their studies which does not extend the period of their studies. A bursary that is recognised as Skills Development expenditure allows for the following: Legitimate training costs such as accommodation, catering, travel and the cost to an organisation of employing a Skills Development facilitator or a training manager (non-exhaustive) may not exceed more than 15% of the total value of Skills Development Expenditure. This does not apply to Skills Development Expenditure recognised in paragraph 2.1.1.2”. Point Indicator 2.1.1.2 under Statement 300 of the Amended General B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice refers “Skills Development Expenditure on Bursaries for ‘Black’ Students at Higher Education Institutions”. Skills Development Services are available to assist Members to prepare for Skills Development initiatives.

If an organisation falls within the ambit of a Sector Code of Good Practice (Sector Code), they must be measured against that criteria. Should a Sector Code fall silent on any issue, organisations must revert to the Generic Codes of Good Practice (The Codes). Both The Codes and Sector Codes were designed to expedite economic transformation. However, Sector Codes were developed to align with the Codes with more sector-specific requirements. Organisations must be aware of the wording within The Code or Sector Code they are measured on to ensure they meet the expectations laid out within. Although both element's intent aligns, the wording in the different sets of Codes may differ. A prime example is Statement 500 of The Codes and Statement AICT500 of the ICT Sector Code, both of which address Socio-economic Development (SED). The Codes Statement 500 | paragraph 3.2.1 Key Measurement Principles states: SED Contributions consist of monetary or non-monetary contributions initiated and implemented favour of beneficiaries by a Measured Entity with the specific objective of facilitating income-generating activities for targeted Beneficiaries. ICT Sector Code Statement AICT500 | paragraph 3.2.1 Key Measurement Principles states: SED Contributions consist of monetary or non-monetary contributions initiated and implemented in favour of beneficiaries by a Measured Entity to create sustainable access to the economy of those Beneficiaries. Socio-Economic Development Services are available to assist Members with Socio-Economic Development strategies.

Intra-group procurement spend is a normal part of spending, especially for groups of vertically connected companies, which in many cases is a sizeable amount. Internal procurement between holding companies and their subsidiaries must be included in an organisation’s Total Measured Procurement Spend as per Statement 400. Paragraph 5.1.2 states: Intra-group procurement: all goods and services procured from subsidiaries or holding companies of a measured entity (BEE Credentials of the entity supplying goods and/or services must be confirmed in the way of a BEE Certificate). It is clear that B-BBEE Credentials must support Intra-group procurement whether a subsidiary or holding company produces an independent B-BBEE Certificate or Affidavit or a group consolidated one. It is important to note that the subsidiary or holding company must be listed as an entity that has been included in the group consolidated B-BBEE Certificate’s verification procedures as per the SANAS R47-03 requirements as well as requirements under the 2008 B-BBEE Verification Manual must be considered. Enterprise & Supplier Development Services are available to steer Members on what constitutes a TMPS claim.

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Rex van Schalkwyk | 19 June 2023 Without a definition of the term ‘black’, the proposed water regulations are meaningless. The ANC government has re-racialised the SA body politic. The most recent example is the set of regulations that prescribe racial quotas for water licensing for bulk usage (predominantly by large irrigation farmers, but excluding mining). Subterranean and surface water was nationalised, together with mineral rights, by the ANC shortly after it came to political power. This means in effect that access to these valuable resources is accessible only upon application and as the prerogative of the government. Such vast powers can, of course, be abused. And abused they have been. The ANC has an oft-repeated agenda for the expropriation of property without compensation. Many critics of this policy have expressed the view that the immediate victims will be large-scale farmers, many of whom have extensive irrigation lands. These are surely the most valuable, and viable, farms in the country. Now the ANC has come up with a plan. Draft regulations published by the department of water & sanitation stipulate the shareholding to be held by “blacks” as a qualifier and precondition to the issue of a licence for the use of water above a certain threshold. There is a sliding scale, which terminates at 1-million cubic metres, in a prescribed period, at which level the entity must be controlled by a minimum 75% black ownership. It follows that a farming venture requiring this volume of water will be denied a licence if the racial target is not met. How is a successful irrigation farmer to contrive a 75% black ownership for his property without surrendering that portion, essentially for no reward? That will amount to expropriation without compensation done “voluntarily”. There are at least two fundamental problems with this sleight of hand: it is a form of legislation done by decree (regulation), whose substance can be legitimately realised only by an act of parliament; and the regulation in this form lacks certainty. Both failures are violations of the rule of law, which is a foundational principle of SA law. This essay will deal only with the second of the two failures; the first is an issue for another day. The rule of law decrees that a law made by a lawful authority must be certain: it must be certain as to its purpose and it must be certain as to its meaning. Moreover, it must be certain as to its method of application. Any form of ambiguity in the law renders it uncertain and therefore unenforceable. The question that arises regarding the draft regulations is the meaning to be attached to the word “black”. Is it, for instance, a generic term used, as the Americans do, to apply to any person of mixed race; to a person of Asian extraction; or a person who merely identifies with and has habitually assumed “black” habits and culture? What about someone who, in imitation of the transgender movement, simply identifies as black? This may, of course, be done for good reason. A close friend of mine whose grandfather went to war returned to find his son, a toddler when he left, in the care of a Basotho family, speaking only Sesotho and wearing what in Afrikaans is called a stertriempie. Does an objective test exist to define “blackness”? The apartheid government recognised this conundrum and understood that something had to be done about it. For this reason it came up with the Population Registration Act, whereby every citizen was classified according to race, which was recorded in that person’s identity document. An office for race classification was established to oversee the process of racial categorisation. Before the ANC government came to power it was recognised, very sensibly, that the continuation of this law was inimical to the nonracial dispensation the new constitutional order decreed, and it was unceremoniously scrapped by the outgoing National Party. Now, however, the ANC government has a need for a Population Registration Act again. Without a clear definition of the term “black”, and a corresponding definition of those who are not so qualified, the proposed regulations become meaningless, and therefore unlawful. The ANC must decide: is SA a nonracial democracy, or a re-racialised aristocracy akin to that of the apartheid government? • Van Schalkwyk, a former supreme court judge, is an author and chairs the Free Market Foundation board and rule of law panel. He writes in his personal capacity. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2023-06-19-rex-van-schalkwyk-the-anc-and-race-classification/

Siphelele Dludla | 19 June 2023 According to Statistics SA, at least 4.9 million people aged 15 to 34 remain unemployed in South Africa as the labour force keeps growing with matriculants and graduates. Tens of thousands of young people braved the elements and queued at various venues to apply for jobs opened by the Gauteng provincial government on Friday, underscoring the growing number of unemployed young people who are jobless amid subdued economic growth. The Gauteng government on Friday set up a Jobs Fair to open 8 000 opportunities for youth as part of commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Soweto uprising of June 16, 1976. The jobs included those for drivers, receptionists, cleaners, artisans, construction managers, communication officers, health practitioners, agricultural advisers, engineers, and chief financial officers. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said Youth Day was not for speeches but for boosting the provincial economy with massive opportunities, and not handouts. According to Statistics SA, at least 4.9 million people aged 15 to 34 remain unemployed in South Africa as the labour force keeps growing with matriculants and graduates. This number rises dramatically to 9.2 million people between the ages of 15 and 34 when put together those not in any form of employment, education or training (NEET). South Africa’s economy has not been growing at the required rate to create enough jobs for the past 15 years. This trend is expected to continue this year as the economy is forecast to grow just above 0% mainly because intensified load shedding inhibiting activity and investment. Econometrix chief economist Dr Azar Jammine on Friday said that the youth unemployment crisis was being driven by a lack of adequate skills necessary to boost the economy. “Unfortunately, South Africa is a country with an economy that is less conducive towards providing jobs to the youth, many of the more artisanal types of jobs like plumbing, electricians, motor mechanics, welders, and that kind of jobs,” Jammine said. “We are being compelled to import a lot of those skills when there is a massive availability of unskilled labour that can be developed.” As the country commemorated Youth Day, a number of organisations placed the blame for the plight of young people directly at the doorstep of government. One of the critical factors identified for chronic youth unemployment was the lack of quality education and a lack of resources at the foundation phase and at the intermediate and higher education levels. SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Friday said a crisis had emerged that compromised quality of education, leading to 80% of learners being unable to read. “Failure at this stage, unfortunately, sets learners on a path of multiple learning barriers in their learning journey that are acquired and not innate,” Vavi said. “To ensure learners get quality education goes beyond the enshrinement of a right in a constitution; it requires the state with a different economic structure and the right fiscal framework to provide quality education.” There is a growing population of graduates who are unemployed, including doctors, nurses and a number of young people with unusable qualifications due to a mismatch of skills and the labour market in the economy. During his budget vote speech last month, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande set his department a target of creating 110 500 workplace-based learning opportunities, registering 149 000 learners in skills development programmes, 23 000 learners in artisanal programmes, 21 000 learners to study artisanal trades, 32 550 learners to complete learnerships, and 6 450 learners to complete internships. Cosatu’s Young Workers’ Forum national secretary, Siyabonga Mkhize, called on the government to partner with the private sector to avert the growing skills deficit. “We need to expand internship and artisanship programmes, as well as the Presidential Employment and Youth Employment programmes in both the public and private sectors to afford young people the chance to enter the labour market, earn a salary and acquire the necessary skills and experience to find permanent jobs,” Mkhize said. “We need to extend the National Youth Development Agency’s (Nyda’s) mandate and programmes, in particular those that support youth entrepreneurship.” The Youth Employment Service (Yes) programme has recently reached the milestone of 1 million job opportunities since it was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019. The Nyda has also been allocated a further R250 million for the 2023/2024 financial year for the national youth service programme, a component of the presidential employment initiative that is aimed at training young people through participation in community services. However, the sentiment on the ground remained that the government continued to fail to deliver on its promise of a better life for all after 29 years in power. But speaking during the official commemoration of Youth Day in the Free State, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, disputed claims that the government had failed the youth in the country. “This government has made free education for young people even up to tertiary for poor people and for working class people. It’s free. During those days you wouldn’t go to these universities like UCT and Wits,” Dlamini Zuma said. “Young people must take opportunities that exist, they must inform themselves, they must be organised. The exhibitions, there are lots of opportunities so to say they are forgotten is far from the truth.” ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/sas-youths-flock-to-jobs-fair-amid-chronic-unemployment-in-the-15-to-34-year-age-bracket-7e44a0f6-492d-41d9-82ab-d44369ec61e3

Staff Writer | 18 June 2023 To escape the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylisting, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) will amend the Companies Act to reveal the names of beneficial owners of companies in South Africa, reported the Sunday Times. This critical step towards South Africa’s removal from the FATF greylist was among the eight areas of strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF that required South Africa to address. According to the minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, a CIPC report on monitoring beneficial ownership and the amendments to the Companies Act to enable this will go to parliament this month. Among its critical recommendations, the FATF noted that South Africa needed to “ensure that competent authorities have timely access to accurate and up-to-date Beneficial Ownership (BO) information on legal persons and arrangements and applying sanctions for breaches of violation by legal persons to BO obligations”. The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) defines a beneficial owner as a natural person who, directly or indirectly, owns or controls the client of an accountable institution or legal person/trust/partnership that controls the client of an accountable institution or controls a client on whose behalf a transition is being conducted. Patel said that the data on the beneficial ownership register is for all entity types where ownership of a person is 5% or more, and companies would be obliged to collect this information. At the same time, the CIPC will have to maintain a register for law-enforcement agencies to retrieve when pursuing cases of money laundering, terror financing and proliferation. “The regulations will strengthen the fight against corruption and improve the integrity of South Africa’s financial system,” He said. However, According to its latest Economic Outlook report for South Africa, PwC said that, while the greylisting was for a good reason, the hoops South Africa would have to jump through to be removed from the list would raise the cost of financing and trading with global partners for companies based in South Africa. The greylisting and its recommendations could lead to additional funding source requirements for businesses and NGOs, which would increase costs and delay transaction execution, the group warned. As a result, private companies need context-specific solutions to circumvent the aspects of the greylisting such as strategic expansion, capital raising, and any generally increased cost of doing business, said PwC. Nevertheless, Patel noted that the cabinet was processing the amendments to the Companies Act. The National Treasury has indicated that the government is expected to address these deficiencies by no later than the end of January 2025. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/696935/government-is-cracking-down-on-trusts-and-businesses-in-south-africa-report/

Monde Ndlovu | 16 June 2023 Leadership remains a key cornerstone to building the kind of nation we want to be proud of. Youth leadership development in particular ought to be at the centre of initiatives and opportunities, because by placing youth leadership development at the heart of economic development, we will be ensuring that our future and its prospects are shaped by leaders who understand both their context and responsibilities. In the words of Lot Ndlovu, “do we teach the youth and challenge them to be keepers of their brothers and sisters, yet to be resourced, and in order to be resourced properly, through correct and wholesome means?” The challenge posed by Ndlovu remains - what is being taught to young leaders, and do these teachings, including gaining resources through ethical behaviour and processes, have integrity as their main ingredient? Youth leadership development should therefore be characterised by four E's; Education, Empowerment, Elevation, and Exposure. These four elements can form the basis of how we approach youth leadership development in the country. Education as the first element pertains to both formal and informal. Formal education is key in developing specific skill sets that are required to understand a certain discipline. Too many young leaders in their quest to make a difference do not spend sufficient time in understanding the need for formal education and how to align their abilities and mental aptitudes. Youth need to champion a specialist agenda, where we begin to see more young people specialising in key fields. And these fields need to align to the key drivers of the country’s economy, and not diversify and have irrelevant skills. According to Statistics South Africa’s latest GDP numbers for quarter 1 of 2023, finance, real estate and business services was the largest industry, currently contributing 23.6% to GDP. This is followed by personal services at 16.7%, trade, catering and accommodation at 14.7%, and manufacturing at 13.7%. Skills development therefore should be based on the key economic drivers of the country. As we speak, the South African population is painfully uneducated in key areas of that drive the economy. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Highest Level of Educational Attainment in South Africa June 2022 Report, looking at 4th quarter data from 2021, between the ages of 25 and 65 years, the following data is revealed: secondary education (grade 12 or equivalent) was at 31.9%, certificate was 3.3%, diploma at 5.4%, and degree was at 5.9%. Amongst Black Africans, the numbers are not pleasing: secondary (grade 12 or equivalent) was 31.3%, certificate was 3.4%, diploma sat at 4.2%, and degree at 3.4%. These numbers prove that we still have a long way to go to realise the dream of a highly skilled workforce, especially amongst Black Africans who make up the majority of the country’s population. The informal education part speaks to learning from other sources, and learning in practice. The classroom in this context is anywhere and everywhere where knowledge can be gained and understood. The best way to gain knowledge is through practical application of theory and observable principles. There’s a famous African proverb that says: "Boys learn by watching the back of their fathers.” Young people, therefore, need to harness the informal space and learn widely from others and in practice. With Empowerment as the second element, we need to appreciate that the South African society is largely characterised by poverty, unemployment, and inequality. We remain of the most unequal societies in the world, meaning that economic power is enjoyed by few, which in South Africa’s case means wealth in the hands of few white people, even though a few black people have made some gains. Therefore, policies, laws, and regulations are needed to spread opportunities and to reshape economic power. Empowerment means creating external tools to uplift and redefine economic power in South Africa. Economic transformation is an empowerment philosophy and framework to achieve socio-economic redress in an unequal society. Part of the toolkit of empowerment is the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment framework. Zooming into enterprise development, the attitude of established businesses should be to create their own black competition in their respective industries. If not, they should develop black-owned business in the industries that drive the economy. And at the heart of this approach should be youth-owned businesses. This will also give established businesses the opportunity to transfer skills and expertise to these black-owned businesses. This needs to be the next layer of engagement in South Africa, where businesses need to develop youth-owned businesses in industries that drive the economy, like banking and financial services. In addition to this approach, the country needs to think more deeply about poverty, inequality and unemployment (PIU) targeting. Both government and business need to agree on PIU targeting and report quarterly on progress in this regard. With Elevation as the fourth element, the youth need to be held in high regard as the jewels of democracy. The future of democracy belongs to the youth and their offspring. Elevation also includes the challenge of recalibrating the thinking and mindset of young people. This is a daily task of beating the odds and remembering that we all come from greatness. In the words of a song sung by Thandiswa Mazwai, “nilibele ukuthi nizalwa ngobani,” meaning, have you forgotten who birthed you? And as we remember where and who we come from, we elevate our mindset and dream beyond our forefathers. With Exposure as the last element, this is to be intentional about bringing in young people into rooms and businesses to see how leadership operates at different levels in the economy. When Singapore decided to turn around their fate it employed three values: Meritocracy, Pragmatism, and Honesty. Young people should be exposed to more models of success that can be adapted to our country. The East has more examples of how they turned countries changed their fate, and the youth should be exposed to this. South Africa could also embark on a leadership exchange programme, where our young leaders can learn from other economies, with the sole purpose of bringing back insights to adapt to our shores. This Youth Leadership Development Model underpinned by the four E’s - Education, Empowerment, Elevation and Exposure - can further be developed, but the principles introduced in this article should spark the mind of the young. South Africa’s spirit needs to be redefined and its pulse needs to beat differently. With an army of youth leaders, driven by these four E’s, can usher in a critical mass of young leaders who can change the spirit and soul of the nation. As Ndlovu stated, we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. Monde Ndlovu is a consultant for African Leadership Development. https://ewn.co.za/2023/06/16/monde-ndlovu-youth-are-the-jewels-of-democracy-but-have-no-treasure

Herman Mashaba | 16 Junie 2023 Our economy is in tatters. We have just narrowly avoided a recession, unemployment has been above 40% for three years, the rand is in the gutter and interest rates are soaring. Any rational government would acknowledge this catastrophe and do everything possible to ignite economic growth. The ANC, however, has given up on growing the economy, instead ramping up their misguided efforts aimed at so-called redistribution. Their obsession with quotas will have the opposite effect, leaving everyone worse off by decimating any hope of an economic recovery. In April, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Employment Equity Amendment Act into law paving the way for the release of draft regulations in May to impose strict new racial quotas on employers of more than 50 people. Just days later, the department of water and sanitation published draft regulations applicable to water use licence applications, proposing similarly strict racial quotas for the extraction and storage of water. Both proposals are contemptible and should be rejected outright. However well-intentioned the ANC believes these measures to be, the reality is that no country can redistribute its way to prosperity. The only thing that the ANC’s race-based policies have succeeded in doing is creating a new wealthy class of politically connected black elite at the expense of the approximately 55% of our society living in poverty. Anyone who has visited informal settlements like Diepsloot and Orange Farm in Johannesburg will know that the ANC’s redistributive policies have done nothing to transform the lives of the poorest South Africans, the vast majority of whom are black. Despite all the ANC’s attempts at redistribution through irrational quotas and empowerment schemes, South Africa is more unequal today than it was in 1994. Let me be clear. ActionSA supports the transformation of the country’s economy, and the need to build an inclusive economy where all South Africans can be genuine counterparts. Similarly, we are not colour blind. We recognise that inequality in South Africa still manifests largely along racial lines. But, South Africa’s experience over the past three decades has shown us that racial quotas are a top-down attempt at addressing the symptoms of our deep-rooted inequality that do nothing to address the root causes of our economic challenges. These superficial measures are a lazy and ill-conceived attempt at transforming our economy at best, and political pandering ahead of an election — at the expense of the economy — at worst. Instead of addressing inequality, the proposed regulations may introduce an additional bureaucratic hurdle and increase the cost of doing business, which will adversely impact job creation in South Africa, leaving the poor and unemployed in an even worse situation. With the state of our economy, we cannot be implementing misguided anti-growth policies and regulations that will continue to harm job creation and exacerbate racial undertones. If we really want to address inequality in South Africa we need to reduce the cost of doing business, remove the bureaucratic red-tape that constrains growth and job creation, and make South Africa a more attractive investment destination. Instead of trying to artificially redistribute an ever-shrinking economy, we need to focus on growing the economy so that more South Africans can benefit from gainful employment. Redistributive policies aimed at reducing racial inequality should focus on achieving equality of opportunity and not equality of the outcome. This means that where there are obstacles that certain groups might experience, both due to historical events as well as current realities, the state should provide support mechanisms to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to overcome those barriers to prosperity. Central to ensuring equality of opportunity is fixing our disastrous public education system. The latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found that 81% of learners in grade four in South Africa are unable to read for meaning. They cannot understand basic age-appropriate text. Unfortunately, it is black children that are the worst off — most African-language schools declined in reading performance, while English and Afrikaans schools did not. This finding means that existing patterns of poverty and inequality will be perpetuated. Essentially, those without the means to afford better quality schooling will be condemned to a reliance on inadequate public schooling where poor learning outcomes will likely exclude them from the economy in perpetuity. The reason why this is so important is because if it is left unaddressed, it will have a dire impact on the skills profile of our workforce. Any policy aimed at enforcing racial quotas for employers is redundant if individuals in the targeted groups do not possess the skills required for the job. Moreover, without a skilled workforce our economy will continue to decline in global competitiveness. We will slip further and further behind relative to countries that are investing heavily in subjects like science and maths, which play a crucial role in innovation and technology. This is fundamental to economic growth and prosperity. With the global economy entering a new era where artificial intelligence and automation will replace the need for many unskilled jobs, all the racial quotas in the world will not be able to compensate for our lack of skilled employees. The bottom line is that the ANC’s obsession with racial quotas will not fix the underlying constraints to economic growth and job creation. If anything, they will make doing business more expensive and deter investment. Given the choice between a country with an onerous regulatory regime like South Africa, and a country with a skilled workforce that prides itself on the ease of doing business, international companies will naturally go for the latter. Quotas that aim to superficially address the symptoms of an ailing economy without empowering the worst-off in our society are not only ineffectual, but they are also outright destructive. The only way to truly transform our economy is to ensure that it grows. That is why we must pursue policies that enable growth while ensuring that we empower marginalised communities with the education, skills and resources needed to overcome the legacy of the past and be active participants in an inclusive economy. Herman Mashaba is ActionSA president. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://mg.co.za/thoughtleader/opinion/2023-06-16-the-ancs-reinvigorated-obsession-with-quotas-will-be-the-death-knell-for-our-ailing-economy/