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Department of Employment and Labour | 27 January 2023 South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world – says Employment and Labour Inspector-General, Moiloa There is very little to show in terms of transformation in the workplace in South Africa even after 24 years the country entered into democracy. This is according to the Department of Employment and labour Deputy Director-General Inspection and Enforcement Service, Ms Aggy Moiloa. Ms Moiloa was delivering a keynote address during the Department of Employment and Labour’s Employment Equity Breakfast Session at the Da Vinci Hotel in Sandton, Gauteng today (27 January 2023). The purpose of the Breakfast Session, themed: “It begins with the will, desire and a decision to commit to transformation”, was meant to debrief and inform various stakeholders such as the employers and employment consultancy on the following: Overview of Employment Equity and Transformation of Workplaces 2021/22 Financial Year. Status of Compliance with Employment Equity Employment Equity Amendment Bill 2018 And included an open discussion in relevant matters with concerned stakeholders in the programme “Unfortunately 24 years later (since the enactment of the Employment Equity Act in 1998) EEA, when it comes to the area of employment equity, we have got very little to show in terms of transformation. All of us by choice or by default can be an activist for transformation. Our slight posture as a country, it surely really its ugly head even in the instance of pioneering and driving transformation,” said Ms Moiloa. Ms Moiloa said compliance levels with EEA remains regretfully low and said that the low levels of compliance frustrate the intention of policy interventions. “So the issue of non-compliance with the Employment Equity cushions and sustains unpalatable tendencies. South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world. Discrimination runs too deep. Transformation leaves a lot to be desired. The level of compliance is even more unacceptable,” Ms Moiloa. Ms Moiloa said in the 2021 to 2022 financial year, the level of non-compliance in terms of the Employment Equity is at six percent of compliance and 96 percent for non-compliance. The Breakfast Session was also attended by other speakers such as the Chairperson of the Commission for Employment Equity, Ms Tabea Kabinde, who presented on the 21st Employment Equity Report; Mr Mxolisi Yabo, Deputy Director: Statutory Services presented on the Employment Equity Amendment Bill 2018 and Advocate Fikiswa Bede, Chief Director: Advocacy Stakeholder Relations – who shared the status of compliance with Employment Equity by employers in the country. Ms Bede told attendees that 860 inspections on Employment Equity have been conducted across the country from April to December 2022. However, only 12 employers were found to be compliant and 848 were found to be non-compliant. “So, the levels of non-compliance really frustrate the intention of policy intervention which seeks to achieve transformation in the labour market and we have not seen it even if you check the Employment Equity Report,” said Advocate Bede. Ms Moiloa also said that the Department has also started inspections of the JSE Securities-listed companies in South Africa. For more information, contact: Teboho Thejane Departmental Spokesperson Cell: 082 697 0694 E-mail: Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za(link sends e-mail) Department of Employment and Labour https://www.gov.za/speeches/employment-and-labour-transformation-workplace-27-jan-2023-0000 ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’.

Masibongwe Sihlahla | 29 January 2023 On 16 June 1976 a watershed event took place that would change South Africa forever and impact the whole world. It was when a group of learners decided enough is enough and took to the streets to protest the imposition of Afrikaans as an official medium of instruction at African schools. The masters wanted to make formal what was already taking place in schools whereby black oppressed learners were forced to learn in the language of the master. Many thousands of km’s away Oliver Tambo immediately grasped the significance of this event and it spurred the movement on to put more diplomatic pressure on the illegitimate regime of the Apartheid government in South Africa. Today we have massive pressures due to Youth Unemployment. Our youth is even more politically conscious than the youth of 1976. Today they have Facebook, WhatsApp etc. and other social media platforms and it was rumoured that the Arab Spring was driven by social media as youth could organise country wide in real time with each other. Our Youth can see that their poverty and inequality stem directly from unemployment. Already South Africa is facing a chance to be categorised as the most unequal society in the world because of our GINI score and HDI (Human Development Index). A country with so much mineral wealth and which is the most industrialised country in Africa with the most powerful army having some of the best weaponry on the continent. With the TVET colleges training more skilled technicians expecting to be absorbed into a company needing their skills and with graduates and diplomats not being able to walk into jobs with their newly acquired qualifications we reaching the situation prior to 16 June 1976. This has been made worse due to Covid-19 but our youth are forgiving and understand Covid-19 was something which happened beyond the control of any government but what the youth cannot forgive our government for is the billions which was stolen from Eskom leading to the current stage 6 load shedding which drives our economy further into the abyss. Without economic growth there can not be job creation and thus absorption of qualified youth into the world of work. Where as with Covid-19 most jobs could resume where they left off with Load shedding jobs are being shed at the same time leading to greater frustration by those youth who were employed albeit for a short period of time. Although South Africa is the most technologically advanced country in Africa and is the gateway to Africa for many other technologies, this means nothing with load shedding currently plaguing our country due to mismanagement and lack of leadership to tackle things head on. The poor maintenance of roads and railway lines as well as the total collapse of SAA has increased costs to many companies which have lead to more unemployment and in this process many thousands of youth have lost jobs. It is a miracle and a unique phenomenon that in South Africa no animosity was felt towards the erstwhile oppressors especially by the youth of the oppressed. Youth also know that in a capitalist society 80% of wealth is enjoyed by 20% of the people yet our youth is satisfied with the situation because for them a job is not just a means of wealth creation but it is a means to have dignity. Without being employed youth sit around and do nothing constructive with their lives, with no job you cannot provide the basic needs for your family and is thus robbed of the dignity to be a provider for your family. In Africa society not being able to provide for your family is a great source of embarrassment and a sign of weakness. Although the 4th Industrial Revolution bringing with it, it’s attendant information technology making things easier for youth to obtain information especially for those in the rural areas with less access to information resources such as libraries or department of labour data bases. The information technology today has also made youth less dependent on government but information technology has not been able to free us from bad government, corruption and poor leadership. I hope the 5th Industrial Revolution will give us the tools to get rid of that. In the meanwhile in South Africa with the youth not being able to be gainfully employed we have in the rural areas youth unemployment as high as 80%. With all these youth siting around we find already police statistics show a rising tide in crime involving youth. We see greater incidences of assaults at and around taverns involving youth. We even see greater numbers of babies being born from youth fathers and at the same time a worrying rise in HIV numbers as well. The youth have been to a large degree behind the DudulaMovement and most of our xenophobic attacks has had youth behind it’s occurrence. As youth feel more and more excluded by society due to unemployment they get a sense of being seen as useless to society and naturally trying to give significance to their lives and wanting to make a contribution to their family support they turn to crime. Not addressing issues such as corruption and load shedding is impacting our country in ways which we many not be able to recover long after we have solved the load shedding crisis in this country and for this we need leadership. Good strong leadership who can lead and provide leadership in a time we need it. The inequality and poverty increases by the day for each day youth are unemployed and we may reach a point where even if our fortunes as a country change some of our youth may be lost forever, which will lead to a cost to the economy of the country when government need to deal with it in future. Right now in many rural towns there are skilled and qualified youth sitting idly on their hands all dressed up and now where to go. I trust that our State President will give the issue of Youth Unemployment over to our future new deputy state president as our current president has too many other issues to deal with. We need this focus on youth if we are not to have a repeat of 16 June 1976 when blacks were mostly high school trained , today varsity and college trained students are sitting at home doing nothing. The ball is in your court Government. Do not fail our youth. Masibongwe Sihlahla Independent Researcher and writer Founder and Chairman CONCERNED YOUNG PEOPLES FORUM OF SA ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’ https://centralnews.co.za/the-tinderbox-of-youth-unemployment/

Ayanda Sakhile Zulu | 26 January 2023 The idea of race-based empowerment in light of our country’s history remains a noble one. No sane and honest person can argue that the current BEE model , which was adopted by the ANC in the early 1990s, has been anything other than a colossal failure (“Is BEE here to stay or is it facing its demise?”, January 23). It has served only to enrich an already wealthy elite. Some analysts have rightly renamed it “blatant elite enrichment”. However, the idea of race-based empowerment in light of our country’s history remains a noble one. I have observed that those who oppose race-based empowerment tend to use the failures of the current BEE model to taint it in general and drive the narrative that it is wrong. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with race-based empowerment. The problem lies in the current model that has been used to advance it. What we need to do is to scrap the current model and replace it with one that will empower millions of black people and not just a tiny elite. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’ https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/letters/2023-01-26-letter-bee-model-needs-to-be-scrapped-not-empowerment/

Schalk Burger | 26 January 2023 There were fewer registrations for Ministerial-approved programmes at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges for the 2023 academic year, at 497 032, than there were in 2022, when there were 508 000. This is worrying, given the National Development Plan (NDP) target to ensure 2.5-million TVET registrations by 2030, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said on January 24. "Our TVET colleges planned headcount enrolment for 2023 is 497 032 for the Ministerial-approved programmes, with an additional 59 383 headcount enrolment for programmes that are funded through other funding sources, thus bringing the total planned TVET enrolment for the academic year 2023 to 556 415," he stated. Additionally, the 508 000 enrolments into Ministerial-funded programmes at TVET colleges in the 2022 academic year was itself lower than the enrolments funded by the State and TVET colleges in the 2021 academic year. Further, the total number of candidates, at 133 442, who wrote the November 2022 National Vocational Certificate Level 2 to 4 examinations, decreased by 4 909, or 3.7%, compared with the 2021 figure. "This is a matter of concern to the department, as our country needs much greater throughput from this crucial sector," he emphasised. Encouragingly, the TVET report indicated that 72.1% of the candidates who wrote the November 2022 exams were female, and 27.9% were male. "This illustrates that our work is helping to affirm the place of women in our post-school education and training sector, but we are concerned about what seems to be an ongoing decline in male participation in the programme. "This particular decline [in male participation] requires our attention, and addressing it will form part of efforts that we are launching this year," said Nzimande. "We are working hard with our plans to ensure that we accelerate the growth of our TVET sector. We will use the inadequate resources we have available and explore creative and innovative ways to accelerate the growth of the TVET sector. "However, we can proudly report that the image of TVET colleges is changing in the country and they are no longer considered second choices. Many of the TVET courses are offered only at these colleges and most of our TVET colleges are full to the brim every year," he boasted. Meanwhile, the DHET is standardising TVET registration and admission processes, which will also include standardisation of the processes of issuing of certificates. "This standardisation process will also help us to migrate from manual to online registration processes in all our TVET colleges. Significantly, this has led to growth in student numbers on several colleges that have embraced the use of technology in their enrolment processes, and has reduced the number of walk-ins at these colleges," added Nzimande. The rural Limpopo province is the leading province in terms of online registration for TVET colleges, he noted. "This is something we must build on in other provinces, as many of our youth have access to smart phones [with which to complete online registration processes]." Further, ten TVET colleges will also be introducing a new programme in robotics in the current academic year. "This is part of our curriculum transformation strategy for the TVET sector in ensuring that our colleges remain responsive to the needs of a changing economy," he highlighted. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES The National Skills Fund (NSF) will fund 107 000 workplace-based learning opportunities in 2023, including learnerships in various sectors of the economy. This will be increased to 110 500 workplace-based learning opportunities from April 1. These opportunities will mainly be aimed at benefitting young people between the ages of 15 to 24, and the 2022 matriculants will greatly benefit from this, Nzimande said. The department's current target on skills programmes in various sectors of the economy is to have 149 000 beneficiaries. For artisanal trades, the target is 23 000 beneficiaries. The department remains on track in terms of funding artisanal development programmes, and the NSF will continue to fund them, he added. These programmes will make use of accredited skills development providers. The NSF will post new requests for proposal from qualifying skills development providers to carry out and support the placement of learners for work integrated learning, in particular targeting the not in employment, education or training group, he added. Further, the skills development funding efforts will release an estimated R3-billion from the NSF to support beneficiaries in agricultural, digital and information technology programmes and skills in small business development. These investments exclude the DHET's investment in artisan development and other support skills development programmes. "Central to the NSF skills development funding programme in the 2023/24 financial year will be the acceleration of skills development funding through massification in agricultural, digital and information technology programmes and skills in small business development and entrepreneurship, in partnership with other government departments," Nzimande said. All these skills development programmes will be coordinated through the District Development Model. Meanwhile, community colleges will introduce digital literacy programmes through a partnership with the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa for community college lecturers. "We will also be progressively introducing skills, occupational learnerships and nonformal programmes at community colleges through funding support from the NSF and sector education and training authorities," Nzimande said. The aim is to change the focus of community colleges from the formerly adult-only-focused education courses to include skills development programmes for people who left school early or who did not finish their schooling to enable them to acquire new skills or improve their capabilities in particular skills, he noted. These will be in addition to the senior matric and second-chance offerings at these colleges, provided in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, to people who failed matric or want to improve their scores in specific subjects. UNIVERSITY ENROLMENTS Enrolments at public universities for the 2023 academic year were projected at 1.1-million, which is 41 545 higher than the prior year, with 655 427 female and 412 428 male students. "This indicates that our university sector is steadily growing," said Nzimande. Importantly, 208 299 first-time enrolments were projected, of which 69 069 will be within scarce-skills areas, including 17 085 in engineering, 17 584 in life and physical sciences, 985 in animal sciences, 209 in veterinary sciences, 10 418 in human health and 22 788 in teacher education courses. "I must applaud our universities for their achievement in exceeding the targets for the veterinary science, animal sciences and teacher education areas," he noted. However, most of the courses in the scarce-skills areas require a matric mathematics pass rate of at least 60%, and some require a minimum 60% pass rate in mathematics and science. "We do not have nearly enough in every cohort of matriculants that achieve a 60% minimum pass rate in mathematics and science. "Therefore, the Department of Science and Innovation has developed collaborations with provincial departments of education to support mathematics, science and technology education, aimed at ensuring that we increase the number of learners passing Grade 12 mathematics, science and technology," he said. Additionally, to ensure the entire public sector university system is developed, the DHET is intensifying the implementation of the university capacity development programme to improve student success and the quality of teaching, learning and research to support curriculum renewal in all universities. The DHET has begun to consider the use of blended learning models as an alternative to accommodate more students. Nzimande has commissioned the Council on Higher Education to conduct a study on blended learning, which will aim to increase learning and teaching through physical and online distance means. "This mode of delivery will enable more access to higher education. This may assist with achieving the NDP goal of 1.6-million enrolments in our universities by 2030," he noted. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/opinion-analysis/informal-settlements-overpopulation-and-vandalism-impede-service-delivery-9f7b7872-0ac6-4d73-9b1d-1ca919456670

Department of Employment and Labour | 26 January 2023 It’s “open season” for scammers – Department of Employment and Labour warns public to be vigilant The Department of Employment and Labour has noted with concern of yet another scam titled “youth employment program” promising the unemployed heaven and earth. South Africa is currently undergoing one of its tough economic phase with unemployment at an all-time high and scammers are also taking advantage of the situation. The Department wishes to warn the public to be cautious of newly-found messiah’s who promise members of the public ‘paradise’. The Department does not have a “youth employment program”. In the latest scam the scammers are promising to reward participants in the so-called program with obscene stipends. But, before this could happen a potential participant in the program has to pay a deposit fee at one of retailers and also furnish personal details. The latest scam follows a number of rackets in which members of public are asked to pay to receive payouts. The scammers also fraudulently use the Employment and Labour Minister T.W Nxesi and the Department’s social media accounts to swindle the public. The Department of Employment and Labour has a Public Employment Services (PES) branch that assists companies and workers to adjust to changing labour market conditions. PES offers a range of FREE public employment services. These services range from registering work seekers on Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) - an online job matching platform, employment counselling, providing subsidies/schemes to non-governmental organisations that assist in the employment of Persons with Disabilities. It is illegal in South Africa to be asked to pay for a job. Desist from paying so-called fully REFUNDABLE FEE(S) when looking for employment. Under any circumstances if unsure what action to take go to any of the Department’s more than 125 offices or labour centres and mobile service points that are spread throughout the country for more information.3 Be alert and protect yourself. Do not part away with your hard earned cash and personal details. Do not pay for a job offer!!! Enquiries: Teboho Thejane Cell: 082 697 0694 E-mail: Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.gov.za/speeches/open-season%E2%80%9D-scammers-26-jan-2023-0000

Ntuthuko Mlondo | 30 January 2023 KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, spoke to the community at a Livestock Indaba at Owen Sithole College of Agriculture, King Cetshwayo District, in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: Supplied Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted the provincial Livestock Indaba Roadshow at the Owen Sithole College of Agriculture, King Cetshwayo District, on Tuesday. The road show was an attempt to continue the positive trend in South Africa’s agricultural sector, which is key to the national gross domestic department. Theme for the Indaba was “Developing Rural Economics Through Livestock.” KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi said agriculture had the ability to restore dignity to the people and alleviate poverty. Sithole-Moloi estimated that over 2.8 million cattle are owned by farmers in the province and the average selling price is R10 000. She said it is important to keep livestock in good condition as that equates to billions of rand for the economy. “The department has accelerated the implementation of food security programmes aimed at poverty-stricken and vulnerable households that face food insecurity. The department is turning around the sector through the implementation of a provincial livestock strategy, which forms an integral part of the KZN provincial growth strategy,” said Sithole-Moloi. The strategy consists of seven pillars that aim to address socio-economic issues in the sector. These pillars are: comprehensive veterinary technical support; animal identification and anti-theft measures; breeding and selection; marketing and value adding; livestock infrastructure development and agro logistics; veld management and nutrition; and applied/adaptive research. “Our aim with these pillars is to bring about a revolution leading to real transformation in the sector and be able to address the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality that affect mainly youth, women and disabled people,” said Sithole-Moloi. The department will also be working closely with amakhosi to ensure people in rural areas get the assistance they need, Sithole-Moloi said. “We want our communities to continue planting and end poverty once and for all. We know agriculture is a fundamental source of national prosperity. Let us use agriculture to better the lives of our people in KZN,” said Sithole-Moloi. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/livestock-indaba-aims-to-provide-strategies-to-grow-agricultural-sector-d8d08c85-a7ac-4f2e-9363-dbbc1f46ffa8

Media Update | 25 January 2023 Khulisa Social Solutions, a non-profit organisation (NPO), has announced that it won the Corporate LiveWire Youth Support NPO of the Year Award for 2022 / 2023. The NPO has over 25 years of empowering underprivileged South Africans to unlock their potential. Lesley Ann van Selm, managing director of Khulisa, says, "This recognition demonstrates the impact that Khulisa has had on South Africans since its inception and is a tremendous icebreaker for the amazing work that we are excited to continue in 2023." Last year, Khulisa was selected as a finalist under the International Peace Awards category for the best work in addressing: poverty and homelessness peace-making interventions, and youth empowerment interventions in marginalised communities. Khulisa's flagship projects include: The Sustainable Livelihood Programmes focused on communities in North West and Limpopo provinces. Khulisa launched this programme to implement self-sufficing systems to improve these communities' overall quality of life. The launch of Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments song to better communicate findings of the five-year global research that investigated youth resilience in communities involved in oil and gas production and communities impacted by climate change in South Africa, with a particular focus on Secunda and eMbalenhle in Mpumalanga. The application of the ecological model of violence to understand gender-based violence, this research was undertaken through a partnership with the seasoned research psychologist Sheri Errington, a research associate at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development The Alexandra Youth Entrepreneurial Summit. This summit was made possible by a partnership with the Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce, Qalisa Hub, 243 Pro-network, Ubuntu Business and TuksNovation The criminal expungement clinics will continue later in 2023 following the overwhelming response received in November 2022 The Alexandra Peace-Making Project, which was a direct response to civil unrest, including the looting and violence that took place in 2020, has resulted in 35 community peacemakers trained to deal with conflicts in the township, and The notable Streetscapes Project. This project has been offering long-term community-based rehabilitation that uniquely combines housing, work-based rehabilitation, and the necessary psychosocial support in the Western Cape for over seven years. Khulisa contended with 30 000 other nominees who were submitted from over 30 countries across the globe. Furthermore, a judging panel comprised of entrepreneurs, legal professionals and consultants carefully appraised and selected the winners across various award categories. "We would like to dedicate this award and our other recent recognitions to our stakeholders, including other not-for-profit organisations, community members, funders, and partners," says van Selm. For more information, visit www.khulisa.org.za. You can also follow Khulisa Social Solutions on Facebook or on Twitter. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’ https://www.mediaupdate.co.za/publicity/153309/khulisa-social-solutions-wins-corporate-livewire-award

Kailene Pillay | 25 January 2023 The newly appointed Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, vice-chancellor and principal, Professor Pamela Dube. Picture: SUPPLIED The Central University of Technology (CUT) in the Free State has officially welcomed the newly appointed vice-chancellor and principal, Professor Pamela Dube. Council chairperson Matthew Rantso said the university being without a VC for more than a year and a half had been an “arduous journey”. He said that the council prioritised making a female appointment. “Our institutional values of equity and excellence inspired us to make this call. Without a doubt, we found her (Dube) to be the most suitable leader who will take the university forward. With her appointment, we, as a collective, believe that CUT is in good hands. The university is in a better position than it has been then and now. “This is all because of our rigorous recruitment efforts. Rest assured; the new VC has the support of our council, all statutory bodies within the university, and the university community. She will carry on where we have been doing well to drive our academic projects and Vision 2030 to become a leading university of technology in Africa through innovation.” He commended Professor Alfred Ngowi for serving CUT as acting vice-chancellor during that period. “We have witnessed remarkable strides towards the operational efficiency of this university despite the challenges we have experienced. We have seen progress in filling the key positions, especially in the registrar’s division, with a shrewd eye on employment equity and representation,” said Rantso. He added that Dube comes with vast experience, bringing credentials into this portfolio that would help her lead the university towards and beyond the CUT Vision 2030, using her knowledge and experience in the higher education sector. Before joining the CUT, Dube served as a deputy vice-chancellor: Student Development and Support at UWC. She is an accomplished leader in academia, having completed her MA and PhD studies in comparative Literature and Media at the University of Siegen in Germany, supported by the German Exchange Programme, DAAD. Dube is also a graduate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She lived and worked in Germany at the University of Siegen after completing her doctoral degree. Her career includes higher education and research management, comparative media/communication and literature, human resources development, institutional advancement, student affairs and international relations. She has worked as a senior employee of the National Department of Education, as an academic at the universities of Siegen, Kathmandu University in Nepal, UKZN in Pietermaritzburg, and Wits in Johannesburg, where she was a dean of students. She served as a special adviser to the vice-chancellor at the University of Johannesburg, where she also took on the leadership of the Human Resources Division. She is a past employee of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, where she established an International Relations office and managed the Learning and People Development Unit. Since her appointment began, Dube has been engaging with relevant stakeholders, getting to know the CUT community better. “Today I look at my coming here at CUT as a beginning of a new dawn, a new journey. And as we begin this journey jointly as a collective, I want to thank the chair of the Council, councillor Matthew Rantso, the members of the council and the university stakeholders for your confidence and trust in me to drive the university Vision to 2030 and for the privilege of becoming the first woman vice-chancellor and principal of CUT,” saidDube ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.iol.co.za/education/first-woman-vice-chancellor-professor-pamela-dube-officially-takes-reigns-at-cut-5261b975-a01a-42c7-ad17-0efd1f98ffb5

Hanno Labuschagne | 26 January 2023 Dirk Hermann, Solidarity CEO Solidarity says Eskom wants to get rid of 500 white male employees — most of which do maintenance work — in the next two years. The trade union has revealed this forms part of the utility’s latest Employment Equity (EE) Plan for 2023 to 2025. The organisation’s legal team has issued a legal letter to Eskom calling for a moratorium on race-based appointments at the utility to help address the power crisis. Solidarity pointed out that there was an urgent need in South Africa for the deployment of the best skills in jobs regardless of race. It said there were both competent black and white artisans at Eskom and in the industry. “Those are the people Eskom should recruit, based on their ability to help solve the power crisis, without looking at the colour of their skin,” the organisation stated. Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann said the EE plan did not reveal how Eskom would address its skills challenges but was all about skin colour at various job levels. “These absurd race targets come amid the fact that power station maintenance is one of Eskom’s major challenges,” said Hermann. “Eskom should now focus on one thing only, and that is not race, but power. South Africans do not need race targets but light in their homes and power for their businesses.” Hermann said that race-based targets discouraged existing Eskom staff members and also implied that competent white persons could not apply for jobs at the utility to help solve the crisis. “Also, it makes it nearly impossible to appoint some of the hundreds of experts who have offered their services to assist Eskom because they have the wrong skin colour,” Hermann said. The hundreds of experts Hermann referred to are those that have put up their hands to assist Eskom with skills and expertise as part of a skills crowdsourcing effort. For its part, Solidarity submitted a list of 300 such engineers and technicians to Eskom and the Department of Public Enterprises several months ago. The list is exempt from any requirements of race and includes numerous people who had left the utility under its aggressive black economic empowerment (BEE) policies. Eskom and the department previously explained that severe skills shortages — particularly with regard to power station management and maintenance — had contributed significantly to load-shedding. In November 2022, Eskom said it had already shortlisted 153 people who submitted their details to its database as potentially active, skilled, and willing candidates. Tariff increases would not be necessary without BEE Solidarity maintains that BEE is costing Eskom billions of rand and its recently-announced 19% tariff increase would not have been necessary if the utility did not have to meet all the racial requirements involved in procurement. The organisation said Eskom had a long history of aggressive race-based employment policies. “Between 1994 and 2002, at least 10,207 white persons left Eskom,” Solidarity said. “From about 2000, Eskom has paid R1.8 billion in terms of current rand value for packages to get rid of white people.” “This rapid loss of skills led to a huge loss of expertise and institutional knowledge.” Hermann said that Eskom had apparently learnt nothing from this experience. “It is still pursuing its race programme, even in the dark,” he stated. Solidarity’s letter said it reserved the right to go to court should Eskom continue with the implementation of its race-based employment targets. The organisation is also readying a court case to get Eskom exempted from BEE requirements. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/477827-eskom-wants-to-retrench-500-white-maintenance-workers.html

Lauren Salt and Reitumetse Sebatana | 26 January 2023 Mineworkers in an underground gold mine west of Johannesburg on 12 October 2022. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla / Daily Maverick) Failure to comply may result in penalties of between R1.5-million or 2% of the employer’s annual turnover and R2.7-million or 10% of its annual turnover. With South Africa being one of the most diverse countries on the African continent, equity and inclusion are critical to the future of every sector of its economy. For the mining sector in particular, failure to achieve equity in the workplace could come with greater punitive consequences. In 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour signed the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2020 into law to radically accelerate the realisation of transformation. The bill amends the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA) and the amendments are due to come into effect on 1 September 2023. The most significant of the bill’s amendments relate to the power of the minister of employment and labour to set sector-specific employment equity targets to which designated employers will be held to account. The bill allows the minister to identify national economic sectors and to determine numerical targets for these sectors, for purposes of administering the EEA. These sector targets are scheduled to apply from the year 2024, and may differentiate between: Occupational levels; Sub-sectors; Regions; or Any other relevant factors. Before determining the targets, the minister will consult relevant stakeholders and the Employment Equity Commission on the proposed sector targets and will publish any proposals for public comment. The bill also introduces a certificate of compliance which will be required if any designated employer wishes to do business with the state and which will be issued if the minister is satisfied that: The employer has complied with any applicable sector targets or has raised a reasonable ground for non-compliance; The employer has submitted its most recent employment equity report; and Within the previous 12 months, the employer has not been found to have breached the prohibition on unfair discrimination, or found to have paid wages below the level of the minimum wage by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The director general is also empowered to make recommendations regarding a designated employer’s compliance with its affirmative action obligations, which will include compliance with the relevant sector targets. Failure to comply with these recommendations within the period stipulated by the director-general may result in penalties between R1.5-million or 2% of the designated employer’s annual turnover and R2.7-million or 10% of its annual turnover, depending on the nature, extent and frequency of the contravention. The mining sector is already accustomed to the concept of sector targets. The Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the Mining and Minerals Industry (Mining Charter), issued under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (MPRDA), sets minimum thresholds for holders of mining rights in relation to historically disadvantaged persons which, when implemented, are required to be reflective of the regional or national demographics of South Africa. Employers in the mining space should keep an eye out for updates on the sector targets and make any necessary representations to ensure that the targets reflect what is achievable in light of attrition rates and the talent or skills pool available. It might be unnerving for employers to not know where the targets might land and how achievable they will be. But there is comfort in the fact that there is an overwhelming body of research that confirms the positive impact of diversity in all its forms on organisational performance. Employers are encouraged to embrace the amendments to the EEA and participate meaningfully in the journey towards realising transformation for the benefit of their communities, employees and their organisations as a whole. DM Lauren Salt is an Executive in the Employment Department of law firm ENSafrica. Reitumetse Sebatana is a Trainee Associate in the department. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-01-26-new-employment-equity-targets-could-compel-the-mining-sector-to-walk-the-walk-on-transformation/

Martin van Staden | 23 January 2023 Picture: 123RF/nonwarit Only a shift away from the arbitrary criterion of skin colour and towards merit, value for money and nonracialism will bring economic empowerment to those who most desperately need it “BEE” is not and has never been about black economic empowerment. Instead, it is more akin to blatant elite enrichment. It is therefore heartening that Andile Ntingi believes that BEE cannot survive in its current form (“Is BEE here to stay or is it facing its demise?", January 23). The only viable form an empowerment initiative can take would be to provide equal empowerment to all that are factually disadvantaged, irrespective of the colour of their skin. This is the imperative at the heart of the constitution’s allowances for government preferencing schemes. Section 1(b) of the constitution commits all state machinery to strict nonracialism. Government has brazenly ignored this constitutional standard by adopting more than 116 race laws (including so-called BEE) since 1994, as shown in the Institute of Race Relations’ (IRR) Index of Race Law at racelaw.co.za. A 2022 IRR survey shows that only 3% of black South Africans believe BEE is effective and should be a continued priority for government. Earlier research showed that the BEE regime has benefited at most only an elite 14% of blacks, leaving the remaining 86% without additional advantage. Most South Africans prefer an empowerment dispensation that focuses on socioeconomic status, not race. Ntingi’s proposals to reform BEE would unfortunately not eliminate, or even limit, the wide scope for corruption and waste that characterises the regime today. Only a fundamental shift away from the arbitrary criterion of skin colour and towards merit, value for money and nonracialism will bring economic empowerment to those who most desperately need it today. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/letters/2023-01-23-letter-bee-is-more-akin-to-blatant-elite-enrichment/

Brümilda Swartbooi | 24 January 2023 ​​ For nearly three decades, Violet Mahlaba has been going above and beyond for the City, and has no intention of stopping any time soon. ​Reliable, trustworthy, and dedicated are some of the words that best describe her work ethic. Violet is the manager of training and development, Employee Relations and Development (Group Human Capital Management). Since 2011, she has been ensuring the City’s workplace skills plan (WSP) runs smoothly. In her role, she is also responsible for driving skills development and oversees learnerships and Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET). She has spearheaded projects and procedures, among others. She implemented an in-house supply chain channel in her office. Her secret tool is being highly inquisitive and eager to learn. In fact, her willingness to learn is what drives her. “Be willing to learn. If you’re willing to learn, there’s nothing that can stop you. And if you don’t know, ask. Do your research.” There was a time when she was unfamiliar with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and needed to report to the National Treasury. To plug the gap, Violet got into a car and drove all the way to Ekurhuleni to ask for help and learn more. “No one guided me to respond to national Treasury requirements, so I started doing my own research.” Born in Qwa-Qwa, Free State, Violet worked her way up the ranks when she relocated to Johannesburg. She obtained a teachers’ diploma from Tshiya College of Education in in Phuthaditjhaba, Qwa-Qwa, and an adult learning qualification from Wits University. She joined the City of Joburg in 1995 in the Records Office as a general worker, where her main role was to do the filing and issuing of stationery. “You need to start somewhere,” she says. In 1998, she joined human relations. After the start of the regions, she was moved to Soweto. Violet believes in leading by example for optimum results. “You must lead by example. Show respect, never get tired and will always go the extra mile.” What she loves most about her job is seeing people grow and expand their educational knowledge. “ABET is in my heart. I have seen changes in people’s lives. I pulled people into the programmes who didn’t have matric, who couldn’t get promotions, and watched them go on and get promotions.” She loves helping and assisting people. “If I can see change in people’s lives, that’s what motivates me.” The mother of two and grandmother of three believes in keeping a solid balance between work and personal life. For leisure, she loves visiting new places. One of her favourite destinations is Singapore. ‘Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’. https://www.joburg.org.za/media_/Newsroom/Pages/2023%20News%20Articles/January/Insatiable-curiosity-propels-Violet-to-the-top.aspx